If Tomorrow Never Comes
by Mrs O-Town
Summary: Sydney runs into trouble and makes a decision that could change her life... [S/V]
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: If Tomorrow Never Comes  
  
SUMMARY: Whilst listening to a song, both Vaughn and Sydney come face to face with their feelings…[S/V]  
  
PAIRINGS: Vaughn/Sydney (DUH)  
  
DISCLIAMER: As much as I would like to, I don't own any of the characters in this fic or hold any rights to the song.  
  
A/N: The sing is 'If Tomorrow Never Comes' by Garth Brooks or Ronan Keating (whichever way you want to play it)  
  
A/N: The song is separated from the fic with [*]  
  
*  
  
Vaughn tossed himself to his side and flicked on the bedside lamp. He looked at his cell phone to check if it was on – it was. He noted the time on his alarm clock;  
  
3.15am.  
  
Sydney should be back by now, he thought to himself.  
  
Vaughn could never get any sleep when he knew Sydney was off on a mission, and so spent many a sleepless night listening to late night love songs on the radio, something he wasn't going to reveal any time soon. He knew it wasn't the best of choices, but it did the trick into sending him to sleep – for a while at least.  
  
He wasn't being over possessive of Sydney or anything, it was just all the danger and suspicion that came with the job – and Sydney unfortunately. You never knew what was lurking out there. There are some pretty ruthless people out there, you know. If Sydney hadn't been caught or even killed on a mission, there was still the big possibility of SD-6 or K-Directorate getting hold of her.  
  
Vaughn gulped hard at the thought and checked his phone again – nothing.  
  
Vaughn tried to reassure himself. She's smart, she can take care of herself. He told himself over and over again, but there was that little itch in his mind which refused to leave until he heard her soft voice on the phone, telling him that she was ok. He looked out of the window and realised it was pouring down with rain. He listened to its rhythmic drumming down the window pane and switched on his radio, letting the song on the radio play  
  
[*]  
  
Sometimes late at night  
  
I lie awake and watch her sleeping  
  
She's lost in peaceful dreams  
  
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark  
  
And the thought crosses my mind  
  
If I never wake up in the morning  
  
Would she ever doubt the way I feel  
  
About her in my heart  
  
[*]  
  
* * *  
  
Sydney shifted uncomfortably in her stiff, itchy aeroplane seat, trying her best to get comfortable. With all the things she had to do for SD-6, you would have thought she deserved to fly business class on trips, but Claire Everson – or whoever she was supposed to be on this trip – didn't.  
  
She shifted into another position and another and then another, but every time she did, it aggravated the many bruises and cuts she had acquired on this latest mission – plus some from last week's. She had gone solo on this trip, so she didn't have Dixon or anyone to talk to. Well, she did, but that guy was creepy, he kept staring at her breasts (which could have something to do with the over padded bra SD-6 had forced her to wear). She had removed them though and soon enough, the creepy guy had fallen asleep. She checked her watch; 3.15am.  
  
Sydney wondered what her friends would be doing now.  
  
Sleeping most probably.  
  
Sydney felt a tingle of envy go through her as she envisioned them tucked up safely in their cosy, warm, comfortable beds.  
  
While they were having a nice and tasty dinner; Sydney was breaking into a vault in Mexico.  
  
While they were having a relaxing hot bath complete with bubbles; Sydney was trying her best to copy a disk for both SD-6 and CIA before the burly, muscular security guards came.  
  
While they were getting ready for bed; Sydney was busy beating up said guards thus resulting in previously mentioned bruises and lack of comfort.  
  
Sydney lifted up the window blind and looked out of it. They were definitely in LA, she could tell because through the torrent of rain, she could she the fairground lights at the pier winking at her.  
  
The pier  
  
Sydney wondered what Vaughn was doing right now. Probably sleeping. He once had let slip that he gets to sleep while listening to music playing softly in the background, so she decided to test that theory, tuning into the first station she came across on her radio/Discman. She sat back as comfortably as possible and let herself be absorbed into the lyrics of the song. As the plane came to a halt, Sydney watched the lights of LA become bigger and bigger, blurring slightly in the rain. She couldn't wait for her next meeting with Vaughn. She wanted to meet him now, but feared that it would disturb him from his sleep and she was extremely tired herself, she just yearned to hear his voice. As she climbed out of the plane and made her way to her car, she stretched herself out. After all, there was always tomorrow.  
  
[*]  
  
If tomorrow never comes  
  
Will she know how much I loved her  
  
Did I try in every way to show her every day  
  
That she's my only one  
  
And if my time on earth were through  
  
And she must face the world without me  
  
Is the love I gave her in the past  
  
Gonna be enough to last  
  
If tomorrow never comes  
  
[*]  
  
* * *  
  
Vaughn looked at his phone and his watch again. It felt as if he had been waiting hours, but it was only less than a minute. Vaughn wanted to pick up the phone and call Sydney, but it was against protocol. Vaughn couldn't help but feel drawn into the song. The words stirred up feelings that he had tried hard to repress when Weiss warned him about his growing 'emotional attachment' to Sydney. Weiss didn't know what he was talking about – the only thing Weiss was emotionally attached to was pizza, hockey and beer (in that order). But he couldn't help how he felt…and anyway, it wasn't like he was in *love* with her or anything – right?  
  
[*]  
  
'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life  
  
Who never knew how much I loved them  
  
Now I live with the regret  
  
That my true feelings for them never were revealed  
  
So I made a promise to myself  
  
To say each day how much she means to me  
  
And avoid that circumstance  
  
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel  
  
[*]  
  
* * *  
  
Seconds later the phone rang. It shook Vaughn so much, he almost forgot to pick it up.  
  
"Hello?" he answered, she sighed when he heard Sydney's voice on the phone.  
  
"I didn't wake you up did I?" she asked, Vaughn took a moment to answer. Should he say 'yes' to keep up the pretence that he was blissfully sleeping when really he tossed and turned more times than a pancake.  
  
"No, I wasn't asleep," Dammit Vaughn! Why do you have to be so damn honest? If he wasn't careful he may accidentally slip something out.  
  
"Good. I just landed and I'm in my car. I got the disks, both copies,"  
  
"You get into any trouble?" he asked, the first thing he always wanted to know, aside from whether she was alive or not.  
  
"Just a few guards who got their ass kicked – bastards broke my nail," she added. Vaughn chuckled.  
  
"Listen…"  
  
"Look I…" the both said at the same time. They gave a short laugh before Vaughn told her to go first.  
  
"I'll give you the disks tonight…that is if you're not busy," Vaughn took the opportunity.  
  
"No, that's fine. The warehouse? I have to tell you something," I love you, he admitted to himself, but it need the extra bit of courage for him to say it out loud. There was a pause from Sydney's end.  
  
"Ok, I'm on my way now, I need to tell you something too," she agreed. Vaughn's heart did flips and he ended the call, frantically looking for some jeans and a jacket. Shave? Nah, Sydney never sees my rough, unshaven look, he decided as he pulled on some trainers and grabbed his phone, car keys and ran out of the house.  
  
[*]  
  
If tomorrow never comes  
  
Will she know how much I loved her  
  
Did I try in every way to show her every day  
  
That she's my only one  
  
And if my time on earth were through  
  
And she must face the world without me  
  
Is the love I gave her in the past  
  
Gonna be enough to last  
  
If tomorrow never comes  
  
[*]  
  
* * *  
  
Sydney drove like a madwoman trying to get through the rain to the warehouse as fast as she could. She rehearsed what she was going to say.  
  
'Vaughn, I know that you and I work together and you're my handler, but recently, you've become more than that. You've become my friend, my confidante, someone who I can trust to tell all of my distant ramblings to however irrelevant it is. I know that you risk your job sometimes for me and I've never fully appreciated it, never fully repaid you. I've found out that I can't work without you, I can't bring myself to have a closer relationship to anyone but you. I want more than that…I want to be seen with you, to go out for a meal, or hockey and maybe we can even enjoy a real Joey's Pizza. All I'm trying to say is that I love you, and I hope you can love me too'.  
  
Vaughn must be at the warehouse, waiting for me now, Sydney thought. She hoped that he didn't give up on her and leave. She was almost there, when she ran into traffic. She groaned and tried to see through the rain. It looked like an accident. She grabbed her phone and started to dial Vaughn's number as she got out to investigate, it rang once, rang twice as she edged nearer to the scene of the accident. Suddenly Sydney stopped, letting the phone continue ringing as her eyes set on the familiar number plate of the car, which had swerved off the road and into a wall. The front of the car was all smashed up and the roof cut open as the paramedics pulled the bloody casualty out of the car. Sydney's grip on the phone tightened as she recognised his dusty blonde hair. She pushed through the crowd as tears stung her eyes like onions. Sydney's heart jumped when she heard Vaughn's voice  
  
'Hi, this is Vaughn' voicemail, she realised as her heart sunk 'I'm busy at the moment so just leave a message' then the beep.  
  
"I love you," Sydney muttered absent mindedly as she hung up and raced to the body, just in time to see the limp, crushed body being covered and pronounced. Sydney ran to him, being pulled away by a paramedic as she hysterically cried out his name, begging him to answer her.  
  
[*]  
  
So tell that someone that you love  
  
Just what you're thinking of  
  
If tomorrow never comes  
  
[*]  
  
1  
  
2 TBC 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I couldn't leave it like that so I wrote another chapter for all those people who want it. Read it and then make up your own mind.  
  
  
  
1 Chapter 2  
  
Sydney opened the caged doors of the warehouse, letting it make the scrapping clang that, in normal circumstances, annoyed her. She walked slowly, allowing each footstep to hit the ground and make a gravely thumping noise as she advanced nearer and nearer to their meeting point. Tears flowed freely from her eyes but as her face was still wet from the rain, they were undistinguishable.  
  
"What's wrong?" the worried voice that Sydney longed to hear asked her. She looked up to the soft green eyes, which showed nothing but concern for her.  
  
"It's Will…he's been in an accident," she said softly, before breaking down into tears for her best friend. Vaughn was speechless. Moments ago he had been ready to give up and leave the warehouse when Sydney had arrived. Ready to forget everything, assuming that she didn't feel the same way. But seeing her before him, broken almost, made him realise that she needed him as much as he needed her.  
  
Not caring if he broke protocol or the fact that she was soaked to the bone from being out in the pouring rain for so long, he took his sobbing agent and held her, letting her tears stain his leather jacket.  
  
"Is he okay?" he asked after a little while, even though he hated the man, Vaughn would take her to see him in hospital if needed; but in the back of his mind, Vaughn already knew Sydney's answer. Sydney sobbed harder, clutching onto Vaughn as if he was her last lifeline. By the time Sydney had stopped crying, it was almost half past four in the morning. They were sitting opposite each other on crates, silent.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked, Vaughn, without looking at his watch replied. Sydney nodded and looked back down.  
  
"Francie ought to know. And Will's parents," he said reminding her of them  
  
"His parents already know. The hospital called them; they're flying in later today. I'll tell Francie when I get home," Sydney said. "I'm sorry I was late," she apologised. Vaughn shook his head.  
  
"Don't be, I understand you were busy,"  
  
"How long were you waiting?" she asked, trying to keep her thoughts as far away from the accident as possible.  
  
"Not long," he lied. Truthfully, he had been waiting almost an hour.  
  
"I tried to call you, I got voicemail," Sydney said quietly remembering her message with embarrassment.  
  
"Ah, about that. When I got the voicemail, I sorta…accidentally…dropped my phone, so I didn't get it,"  
  
"So, you didn't hear what I said?"  
  
"No. Was it important?" Vaughn asked. Sydney's mind raced. Should she tell him? About an hour ago she was ready to, but after the events of tonight…it wouldn't feel right.  
  
"No, I guess not," she decided, smiling briefly before turning away, "Look, I'd better get going. I need to get home before Francie wakes up," Sydney said as she got up and smoothed her suit. She looked in her mirror, reapplied her make up so she looked presentable and turned to Vaughn.  
  
"Thanks," she said, "Thank you for…being here," she said, hugging Vaughn. As she was leaving, she spun around. Vaughn looked up as she pulled something out of her purse.  
  
"I've got the disk, I almost forgot to give it to you," she said as she handed it to Vaughn.  
  
"Thanks. I'm sorry about-"  
  
"It's ok. I'll see you," she said walking off. Vaughn watched her leave and looked at the disk, putting it away in his pocket. He waited until he heard the car drive off before pulling out his cell phone – which was almost new. He looked at it. It hadn't been the right time. Not after what happened to Will. He couldn't tell her then. He pressed a few buttons and held the phone up to his ear. There was a beep.  
  
"You have one message," the electronic voice informed him, followed by another beep,  
  
"I love you," Sydney's voice said clearly before another beep beeped.  
  
"End of messages. Would you like to save or delete the message?" the electronic voice said. Vaughn's finger went back and forth between the delete and save buttons. He sighed and closed his eyes pressing one.  
  
"I love you too," he said as the electronic voice droned again.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Message saved,"  
  
  
  
The End?  
  
Not sure if this should be my last chapter or not. Let me know if you want another chapter.  
  
Mrs O xXx 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Due to popular demand, I've added another chapter and decided to make it into a story. It was originally only going to be one chapter but I didn't like the part where Vaughn died and I managed to save it from that. Then I added chapter two to establish Vaughn was not dead, but people wanted me to write the other chapter that I was offering.  
  
This is the result. I want to resolve the Vaughn voicemail issue and added a sub-plot or main-plot, whichever you are taking as your main-plot. It isn't planned at all so there may be infrequent updates where I don't know where to take it next so if you have any suggestions please e-mail me!  
  
~*~*~*Chapter 3*~*~*~  
  
Sydney walked down the corridor, donning yet another SD-6 creation. A silver PVC catsuit and a cropped black wig with silver highlights through it. The corridor seemed to be never ending and it became obvious to Sydney that she was lost.  
  
"Dixon?" she said through her earpiece, "Dixon, can you hear me?" she asked more urgently when she got no answer. There was nothing. 'Not good,' Sydney thought as she looked behind her. For the last twenty minutes she had noticed that there were no guards in pursuit, no cameras anywhere and no way out.  
  
Finally she came to a door. A door that said 'KEEP OUT' on it. 'This is a little more normal' she thought to herself. Anything with KEEP OUT written on it is most probably where they were supposed to find the document, vial, weapon or files that they were to obtain. Wait a minute! Were they supposed to obtain anything? Sydney frowned. She couldn't remember anything.  
  
She tried opening the door, which opened too easily. 'Shouldn't a door that says KEEP OUT on it be locked?' she asked herself. She shrugged and looked inside.  
  
Empty.  
  
Dark.  
  
Nauseating.  
  
These were some of the few words that came to mind when Sydney looked at the room. She hesitated but relented and carefully walked in. When the door slammed shut behind her, she knew she was in deep trouble. Her heart thumped as she realised to her horror, it was sealed shut. The darkness became a bright white lights and Sydney found herself squinting after the bright flash.  
  
"You killed me Sydney," a voice said. Sydney looked around the room. There was no one else in the room.  
  
"Who said that?" she asked.  
  
"You and your secret. That's what killed me," the voice echoed, getting eerier and eerier. She gulped, looking for the origin of the voice. Sydney didn't know who, or what, it was but she didn't want to stay and find out. She looked for the door, determined to try and break through it, but it seemed to have disappeared.  
  
"It's all you fault Sydney," the voice continued, seeming closer to her, "You killed us. Me, Danny, the guys in Badenweiler, Noah, and now…"  
  
Sydney backed into a wall and her hand hit a wet substance, she looked at her and came away from it. Her eyes widened as she saw blood seeping through the walls, staining the once white walls into a deep red colour.  
  
"I'm going to kill you," the voice whispered in her ear, she turned around. Even though his face was disfigured and covered in blood, she recognised him.  
  
"Will," she gasped in disbelief. He didn't say anything but raised a bloody knife directly above her. She looked at its blade as some of the blood dripped down on her.  
  
"Say bye bye," Will's said as he pushed the knife into her.  
  
*  
  
Sydney woke up screaming. She looked around her. Bed. House. Safe. Alive. Her hair was matted in sweat and her duvet was falling off the bed due to her frequent tossing and turning. She panted heavily after the effects of a dream. A dream. That's all it was. She glanced at her alarm clock; 10:30 in the morning. She was late, but that didn't matter, she was alive and well - and hopefully, so was Will.  
  
She got up and stretched with a smile on her face. She left her bedroom to find a deserted house. 'Francie must be at school already,' she thought. Francie had an early class every Thursday. Sydney poured out some orange juice, expecting Will to arrive any minute. She picked up her mail, some were bills and some were envelopes with no address, just their names. 'Funny' Sydney thought as she ripped one open. It had a card with 'Deepest Sympathies' written on it. She frowned as she read it.  
  
"'Dear Sydney and Francie, we are sorry to hear about your loss…'" she read aloud. Panic hit her. It wasn't just a dream. Will was dead. It was only then when she noticed the many flowers and cards arranged. She gulped and re-read the card, just as Francie walked in.  
  
"Hey, sweetie. You're up," Francie said putting down the groceries. Sydney looked at her, tears welling up.  
  
"Will's dead," Sydney told her. Sydney remembered the meeting with Vaughn where she told him she was going to tell Francie. Had she told her?  
  
"Yeah, honey, I know," Francie said solemnly holding Sydney's hand. Sydney looked at her. She couldn't remember telling her. The hours after Will's death had been a blur and all she could remember was her meeting with Vaughn.  
  
"How did you know?" Sydney asked.  
  
"You told me, remember? A few hours after his accident. You came home all wet and upset," Francie looked at her friend. "Yesterday morning," Francie said. Sydney looked at her puzzled. Francie caught her stare.  
  
"Syd, you've been asleep for so long. After you told me, we were up until ten thirty in the morning crying. Then you went to sleep yesterday and never woke up until now. You must have been tired," Francie said quietly, trying to push back her own tears.  
  
"He really is dead?" She asked. Francie nodded.  
  
"You okay?" she asked. Sydney looked at Francie. Her day didn't seem so bright anymore. "I need to get to work," Sydney said quietly, she needed to keep her mind off things. Francie stopped her.  
  
"You boss gave you two weeks off, remember? Your Dad told him and Slone called telling you not to come in for the next two weeks. Which isn't much by the way," Francie added. Sydney nodded, pretending to remember.  
  
"I…need to…I need some air," Sydney said disappearing into her room. Francie chased after her.  
  
"We got a lot of flowers, one was for you," Sydney looked at the bunch Francie had put in her room on the bedside. She hadn't noticed it before. Sydney read the note, 'To Sydney, sorry for your loss. I'm always here, MV,'.  
  
"Looks like you have a secret admirer," Francie smiled as she left. Sydney shook her head.  
  
Vaughn.  
  
He called to see if she was okay.  
  
She picked up her cell phone and dialled his office number. After two rings she heard his voice. "Vaughn"  
  
"Meet me at the warehouse. Fifteen minutes,"  
  
"Sydney, are you okay. I sent…" Vaughn said.  
  
"I know, thank you," she said as she prepared to go into the bathroom.  
  
Vaughn didn't say anything, but Sydney knew he was smiling on the other end.  
  
"I'll see you there," he said as he hung up. Sydney hung up and quickly bounded into the bathroom.  
  
~*~*~*Warehouse*~*~*~  
  
Vaughn was already in the warehouse when she arrived - like usual, but Sydney was glad she didn't have to wait. She needed to get this freakish dream off her chest.  
  
"Hey," Vaughn gave her a smile as she came in. She smiled slightly back. "Are you okay?" he asked. Sydney shrugged.  
  
"I guess. It's just a daze really…" Vaughn sat on a crate and Sydney sat on the opposite one, "I can't even remember telling Francie about it. She told me we were up for, like, four hours just crying and then I went to sleep. I don't remember that. I woke up this morning and…I had been asleep for a whole day!" She said. Vaughn didn't say anything, only listened.  
  
"I didn't realise how tired I was. I bet I would have slept forever if it wasn't for that dream," Vaughn looked up.  
  
"Dream?" he asked. Sydney nodded and shuffled uncomfortably.  
  
"I had such a *horrible* dream. I was on a mission, but I had no objective. There were no guards, cameras or anything. I didn't have a partner it was just me in this never ending corridor. I finally find a door, which I open even though it says 'keep out' and…" Sydney sighed.  
  
"Syd, if you don't want to tell me-"  
  
"I do. That's why I came here," She said. Vaughn felt a little disappointed. He thought that she was here to finish what they had started yesterday, "You're the only one I can tell this to. The only one I can trust," Vaughn felt a little better and he smirked.  
  
"The room was dark at first but then it was filled with this light. This voice, Will's voice, he kept on taunting me. He told me it was entirely my fault that he was dead. T-t-that I killed him, Danny and Noah. He knew about Badenweiler!" Sydney's eyes were brimming with tears, even though after all the crying that she apparently did, it didn't seem as if she had any left.  
  
"The walls started…to pour out *blood* and…and…" Sydney looked up at Vaughn, who was listening intently to her. He held her hands to comfort her. "Then he killed me," she said quietly. Vaughn was speechless. "That's when I woke up,"  
  
"It was only a dream," he told her. Sydney nodded.  
  
"I know, but it felt so real, like I *was* responsible for all those deaths,"  
  
"Sydney! Will died in an accident! So did the guys in Badenweiler," he reminded her. She looked up at him, like a child.  
  
"What about Danny and Noah?" she asked, Vaughn looked down  
  
"Noah was an assassin, you did the right thing, and Danny…that wasn't your fault," he said. She had heard it ten thousand times before, but it always made her feel a bit better. Sydney was afraid one day someone may change their mind.  
  
"I know. But the stuff he said, I actually believe him,"  
  
"What? You think Will knew about you being a double agent?" Vaughn asked. Sydney nodded.  
  
"Yeah. That or SD-6. I mean Emily found out,"  
  
"But she was around an SD-6 environment. Will wasn't,"  
  
"What if somebody told him? What if he didn't drop the story with Danny?" Sydney said. Vaughn looked around, "It's possible, isn't it?"  
  
"I guess you want to find out?" he said. She nodded.  
  
"I need to know. I don't want another dream like that,"  
  
"But that's all it was…a dream,"  
  
"And all Page 47 was, was a blank page! The forensics are going to go through the stuff in his car. The office will clear out his stuff. Francie is going to clear out his apartment for his parents! What if information about SD-6 and me is there? It could get me killed, that's what he was saying in my dream,"  
  
"Sydney, you are reading too much into this! Even if he is writing a story on SD-6, he may not know you are affiliated in this,"  
  
"He's my friend. They're going to think I blabbed again," Sydney justified. Vaughn sighed, frowning.  
  
"Ok. If it means that much to you, I'll help you. But I'm telling you that there is no need to panic," Sydney smiled at him and hugged him.  
  
"Thank you. I'm going to the coroners to pick up his stuff. His parents' flight was delayed. I'll call you," she promised. Vaughn smiled.  
  
"Okay," Sydney started to leave, "Syd?" she turned back. Vaughn could feel the cell phone in his pocket burning a hole in his jacket. "I'm sure it's nothing," he said. She smiled again and left.  
  
  
  
TBC.... 


	4. Chapter 4

[b]Okay, so lame-ish chapter. Just whipped this up to keep you all satisfied. Hope you like it. The next chapter will be up soon! Promise :D [/b]  
  
[u]~*~*~*~*~Chapter 4*~*~*~*~*~[/u] "It's so nice of you to go through Will's things, Sydney," Amy Tippin said. Her eyes were puffy from crying. It almost matched her hair. Sydney thought of the time she asked Will for Amy's passport and $3,000.  
  
Sydney smiled slightly at Will's younger sister. Will had been such a good friend to her, Amy thought Sydney was going through her brother's things out of kindness and all Sydney was doing was saving her own skin.  
  
"No problem. You've only just flown in. How are your parents?" Sydney asked, making with the small talk to make herself feel less guilty. Amy sighed. She had been staying with her parents when she got the call about Will.  
  
"They're.upset. They hadn't seen Will for about six months. I guess they feel guilty," she sniffed, "I can't believe this happened,"  
  
"Neither can I," Sydney mumbled as she went through his files in the office. "Once I'm through with this I'll get started with the coroner's things," Sydney said.  
  
Actually, Vaughn was going to go through them. He'd offered and Sydney had made a dead drop near the pier. Sydney was relieved, She had to sort through his house and his office.she was thankful Vaughn had taken the stuff that had been in the car.  
  
"Oh, no. You don't have to. I'll go through them. You've already done so much for us. I don't want you to feel obligated," Amy said as she picked up the files. Sydney took them from her.  
  
"I want to," she said softly as she placed them beside her, "He was my best friend. But you were his family. You should be with your parents; not here," Sydney told her dropping a hint. Amy nodded.  
  
"Do you want at least some company? I could get us some coffees," Amy offered. Sydney shook her head.  
  
"I'd rather be alone. I've been asleep for a few days so fatigue isn't on the list. This needs to be done," Sydney said. Amy mumbled a thank you and left Sydney alone.  
  
Sydney sighed and looked around. So far, so good. Nothing incriminating as yet. She decided to sort through the filing cabinet first. She found it locked. She cursed herself and decided to put her skills to use and pick the lock. A few minutes later she was rummaging through it, casually skimming through old stories and notes. She slammed it shut when she couldn't find anything. She sighed. Maybe she was blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Maybe Will hadn't been doing a story on SD-6 after all. But how did that explain that oh-so-real dream she had. Sydney sighed again and made herself a coffee. Her eyes furtively glanced to his laptop, which sat at his desk. She had repeatedly seen him typing away at it at her house, but she hardly ever saw the things he was writing.  
  
Sydney sat at the desk and switched on the laptop. It booted up pretty quickly and when the password screen came up, Sydney used her hacking expertise to get in. She tried several times.she inputted [I]AMY[/I], both his parents' names, the name of his road, his dead dog's name that he had when he was 12 and his nickname. None of them worked. She groaned and looked around. She tried her name.it still didn't work. She banged her fist on the wooden desk in frustration.then she went over to her bag.  
  
Sydney took out a decoder she still had from a previous mission. Marshall had told her to keep it, just in case. She silently thanked him and placed it on top of the machine. It was a matter of seconds before she was in. Sydney scanned through all the files trying to find anything related to SD- 6. Her eyes set upon a file marked 'SD-6', she gulped as she opened the file.  
  
It was information on an artificial chemical they put in drinks. Sydney sighed in relief as she continued her search. About twenty minutes passed before she found files with dates on them. She opened them. They looked recent. She looked at the content and her eyes widened. They were transcripts of interviews with a man called David McNeil. She put her hand to her mouth as she realized the nature of their conversations; they were all to do with SD-6.  
  
'He knew,' she thought to herself as she realized they backlogged to four months ago. There was a big gap in the dates when, Sydney gathered, Will was kidnapped by Sark and his men. Then after a week or so, they began again. 'There has to be recordings,' she thought. The evidence she had found was not sufficient enough to prove he knew. Anybody could have planted the document there.  
  
Sydney looked through the desks, which she hadn't looked through yet. After a couple, she found the tapes. She put one into the Dictaphone that was placed in the same draw and pressed play.  
  
"Yeah, so far I've had time to look into about eighteen of these companies. Listen to this. Six of them have a common board member: A guy by the name of Alain Christophe. This is the best part. Twelve years ago Alain decides to retire... from the C.I.A. Before that, from '82 to '89 he ran counterintelligence at Langley. Why are you smiling?" she heard Will ask. There was a pause before a man's gruff voice answered, "Because for the first time in eight years, SD-6 should be afraid of me," Sydney blinked back tears. Will had been put himself in danger by going to these interviews. 'What the hell was he thinking?' she thought as she stuffed the tapes into her bag along with the Dictaphone. Sydney printed off one of the transcripts for evidence and deleted the rest. The tapes were enough for proof.  
  
Sydney quickly tidied up a little to make it seem as if she'd gone through his things. 'Amy can do the rest' she thought. 'There shouldn't be more on SD-6 in the house. What about his office and his car?' she picked up her cellphone and pressed 3 on her phone. It speed-dialed to Vaughn's cell. After a few rings, Sydney remembered he'd said his phone had broken. As she was about to hang-up, the phone picked up.  
  
"Syd?" he asked. "Hey, it's me. I thought you said your cell broken?" Sydney asked. There was a pause. "Er.yeah, I got a new one but kept the SIM card. Anyways, did you find anything?" he asked. She sighed on the other end and Vaughn immediately knew that she had found something. "Yeah," she said, "I'll.Joey's Pizza?" she said quickly as she saw Francie coming to the door through the window. "Oh, yeah. Wrong number," he said before hanging up. As he removed the phone from his ear, he felt all tingly inside. Sydney always made him feel different. She sent shivers down his spine.in a good way, not in the psycho- scary-killer kinda way. He looked down at the papers in his hand and left his office. Sydney wasn't gonna like this.  
  
Sydney let her friend in. Francie gave a small smile "Hey," they both said. Francie looked around. "How's it going?" she asked. Sydney shrugged and surveyed the property. "It's hard," she told Francie, "I can't believe he's not coming back" Francie nodded. "Yeah. Typical Will, always leaving us to clean up his mess," Francie lightly joked. Sydney smiled for the first time in days as she quietly agreed. "What's that?" Francie asked, pointing to the pieces of paper in Sydney's hand, which she hadn't put back yet. Sydney looked at them. "Oh, term paper I need to give in. I just remembered it. I was going to leave, but I've got to do clear out Will's stuff. I'll be in so much trouble!" Sydney said feigning worry. "Hun, don't worry. You go and I'll tidy up. It's not fair you should be stuck doing this on your own," Francie said putting down her bag. Sydney nodded "You sure? I mean, I could give it in late-" "Nonsense. I'll start off in the living room, you can continue the office when you get back," Francie said, almost shooing Sydney away. "Thanks. I'll get us some Slush-o's on the way back," she said as she put her bag on. Francie looked quizzically at her friend. "Slush-o's?" She repeated. Sydney nodded. "Yeah, apparently their delicious," she said echoing Vaughn's words to her friend. With a smile and a wave, Sydney was gone. 'That girl surprises me more everyday' Francie thought as she started work. 


	5. Chapter 5

If Tomorrow Never Comes ~ Chapter 5  
  
A/N: The stuff in //* and *\\ are flashbacks.  
  
~*~*The Warehouse*~*~ Vaughn looked at his watch; waiting patiently for Sydney to show up. He sat on a chair tapping his foot to no particular rhythm. Every time he and Sydney met, the warehouse seemed so much more inviting. Vaughn remembered the first time he was in the warehouse.  
  
//*He hated it. It was dark and dank. As he recalled, Sydney was late then too. He remembered being so nervous to meeting her. Sure, he'd met her before, but this time, it was alone. He fiddled with his plain grey tie as he heard footsteps approach. He'd wanted to get out of there as fast as he could. He could feel his hands were damp and his hand was shaking ever so slightly with anxiety. Vaughn remembered the way she entered, a small smile on her lips, her hair blowing gently behind her as she walked rapidly towards him. His heart raced as he tried his hardest to remember what he was supposed to say to her. The warehouse seemed to light up when she had entered. It wasn't so dark and dank anymore. At first the two just stood in front of each other. "Did.anyone follow you?" was all Vaughn could say the first time. He mentally kicked himself. Sydney shook her head. It took Vaughn a full ten minutes to be more comfortable, but whenever she spoke to him, came near him or smiled at him, his heart did somersaults. By the time she left, his heart was doing a gymnastics routine.*\\  
  
It still happened today.and every time they met in fact. He couldn't help it. It was as if she'd taken control of his heart, but that was ok with him. He had to admit to himself that he was slowly falling for his agent. Something he had tried hard not to do. Even if Sydney or Devlin or even Jack hadn't picked up on it yet, his best friend Weiss had.  
  
//*'You gotta stop thinking about her' Weiss told Vaughn one day as his entered his office. 'What? Who?' Vaughn looked up from the coin he had been fiddling with. 'Agent Bristow,' Weiss told him. 'Syd? I-I-I'm not thinking about her' Vaughn insisted. 'Syd? Okay, dude. You gotta be more professional' 'I am professional. What makes you think I'm not?' 'Well, for one,' Weiss sat down. This was never a good sign. Vaughn could see he wasn't going to get rid of Weiss that easily. 'You call her Syd-' 'That's cos she told me to,' Vaughn said. Weiss shrugged. 'Secondly, you're playing with that stupid coin again' 'The coin isn't stupid!' Vaughn defended the gift from his father. It kept his mind off things.'things' meaning Sydney 'Lastly, you got to get out more. You used to come out all the time' 'I did go out. Last night remember? We went to Joey's Pizza.I mean the pizza place,' Vaughn corrected. Weiss sighed. 'And all you did was talk about her. Seriously, your one step away from being a stalker. All you got to do now is sit outside her house in your car all night.' Vaughn looked at his friend guiltily. 'Oh man, you didn't did you?' he asked. 'She thought she was being followed home. All I did was help her out!' Vaughn insisted. Weiss laughed as he shook his head. 'That's it, I'm booking you in for Barnett' Weiss joked as he got up. Vaughn picked up a pencil and threw it at Weiss as he left. 'I don't know what he's talking about. I'm not too into Syd,' At that moment, the phone rang. Vaughn immediately picked it up. 'Syd?' he said almost too quickly, 'I mean, Vaughn here,' he corrected. 'Oh, hi mom,'.*\\  
  
Vaughn realised that the warehouse seemed to have a new piece of furniture every week. He realised there was now two chairs, a table, a lantern and a small area for coats. Vaughn checked his watch again. Sydney was ten minutes late. He looked at the manila file on the table. Vaughn had offered to go through the coroner's things when Sydney had collected them. She'd been happy to let him do it, and frankly, he was happy to. He knew how much the dream had worried her and according to Jack, Will had come very close to finding out about SD-6. The two, of course, had kept it from Sydney as, to their knowledge, Will had abandoned the story. However, some of the things Vaughn had found amongst Will's things proved otherwise. Vaughn picked up the files and looked at it. Syd wasn't going to like this. As if on cue, Vaughn heard Sydney's footsteps. He opened the gate and let her through. "You're late," Vaughn said, kicking himself again. Sydney ignored him as she walked briskly past him and put down a brown paper bag and her own bag on the table. She flashed a small smile at him as she sat down. "Is that the stuff you found?" Vaughn asked pointing to the brown bag. Sydney shook her head. "No, this." she pulled out two sandwiches, "This is lunch," she said handing him a roast chicken one. He looked at it and laughed. "Roast chicken. How'd you know it was my favourite?" he asked her as he sat down. Sydney took a big bite of hers. "I listen. And it's also a thank you present. For being there, y'know," she said trying smiling at him with a mouth full of her sandwich. Vaughn thanked her and took a bite of his. "Plus, no sandwich would be complete without." she pulled something else out of the bag. Two Slush-Os. Vaughn laughed. "Slush-O's!" He gasped like an eight year old as he grabbed one. "You're right, you know," Sydney said giggling. Vaughn gave her a confused looked, "They are delicious," she continued.  
  
~*~ Amy Tippin walked through Will's office. Many people said 'hello' to her and wished her well. Amy tried to be strong as she entered Will's office. "Hello, are you Sydney Bristow?" the secretary asked. Amy shook her head. "No, I'm Amy, Will's sister. I'm clearing out his office instead," Amy said. Will's secretary nodded and allowed her to go through. It looked as though the secretary was being allocated to another reporter. Well, it would make sense. Will wouldn't need a secretary. Amy looked around the office and started to clear away the papers strewn all over the desk.  
  
~*~ Sydney and Vaughn finished their lunch. They looked around for a waste paper basket. "You know, next time, I'm asking for a bin to be brought in here," Sydney moaned as she took Vaughn's rubbish and put it in the brown bag. "I'll throw it out when I leave. We'd better get to business," She told him. Vaughn nodded. "What did you get?" Vaughn asked her, eying the manila file that remained on the desk. Sydney pulled out some papers and tapes. Vaughn looked at the papers first. He skimmed through them. "These are." "Transcripts. Of interviews with a man called David McNeil. Do you know him?" Sydney asked anxiously. "Vaguely. There was this case a while back. Erm.this guy, he developed this encrypting software." Vaughn told Sydney all he knew about David McNeil. She listened intently to his tale, close to tears in some parts. Sydney couldn't believe it. All those times she was lying to him, he was lying to her. She had begged him not to continue the story but he thought he was doing the right thing. "Those are the tapes, right?" Vaughn asked, bringing Sydney back. She looked up at him trying to remember what he had asked her. "Oh, yeah. I found them in his drawer.I brought the Dictaphone too," She said taking the Dictaphone out. Vaughn nodded and put it into his jacket. "All he knows is that SD-6 wanted to buy his software, right?" She asked hopeful that Will didn't know about SD-6's dealings. But she also knew that she hadn't heard the rest of the interviews. Vaughn looked to the manila file, almost forgotten on the table. "Syd.I found this. You may not like what's inside," he warned her. She just looked at him, took the file from the table and looked inside. Her face crinkled in confusion. "Those are notes.on SD-6. He knows that they're not part of the CIA. I assume that McNeil told him. It must be on the tapes somewhere," "Notes?" Sydney repeated. "So, that means he hasn't written a story," Sydney's face was coloured with hope, even though deep down, she knew it could be too late. Vaughn sighed. "There is a strong possibility that he hasn't written a story, or it hasn't gone to press. But if there is, if, we have to find it. These notes, the tapes, transcripts, we have to either destroy them or keep them contained," Sydney nodded in acknowledgement. Vaughn sighed again, "Where'd you find the transcripts?" "On his laptop, I hacked into it and then deleted the files from the recycle bin too," She told him. Sydney looked into Vaughn's green eyes; they stared at each other for close to 30 seconds. "If he has written a story, we need to get it, Syd. There may be more notes, tapes or whatever. If anyone finds it." "Sloane's going to kill me," Sydney said. "He'll think I told him, just like Danny," her voice wobbled as she said the last words. Vaughn reached over and held her hands. "Hey," he said, lifting up her chin so she was looking at him, "We'll get this. Ok? I'm not going to let Sloane come anywhere near you, you're safe, I promise," Vaughn reassured. Sydney managed a small smile before she hugged Vaughn tightly. "I hope you're right," she whispered in his ear.  
  
~*~ Amy read the last page of the article. Her eyes widened in shock. 'Oy' she thought to herself. She closed the neatly typed up article and looked around the office. It had been placed in the 'IN PROGRESS' basket, so it was fairly recent. She exited the half-cleared office and left the building. The article, named 'SD-6', left with her.  
  
~*~*TBC*~*~ 


	6. Chapter 6

iub If Tomorrow Never Comes /b - Chapter 6 /i/u  
  
A/N: I know Sydney drives to and from the warehouse, but lets just say she didn't today. I'm also ranting in this chapter so feel free to complain  
  
~*~ Sydney left the warehouse, as usual, five minutes before Vaughn. She had enjoyed their lunch together and was still slurping on her Slush-O. Sydney smiled to herself as she mused over the way Vaughn's eyes seemed to light up as she produced the two Slush-Os. She hadn't seen Vaughn like that before. It seemed as if she had insight into the real Vaughn. The Vaughn that wasn't 'Vaughn', but 'Michael' or 'Mike'. The guy who lazed around in his boxers on Saturdays. Suddenly, Sydney's thoughts were filled with Vaughn in boxers. She hadn't meant to think about that. Honest.  
  
Sydney still couldn't help a small smile curl on her lips. Lost in the thought of Vaughn in boxers and her interest in her Slush-O, she had failed to notice the lamppost in front of her. There was a thud. She held her hand to her head and squinted through the searing pain. Someone stopped to ask if she was okay, she nodded and looked around, hoping Vaughn hadn't seen her be such a klutz. Unfortunately, he had and was coming over to her. She shook her head as and warned him away. He gave her a look that said 'You ok?'. She nodded and waved. He smiled and reluctantly left in the opposite direction. Momentarily forgetting where she was supposed to be going, she held onto the lamppost and shook her head as to relieve the pain. That was going to leave a bruise. She could just imagine what Francie and Will- No, what iFrancie/i would say when she got home. She still wasn't used to thinking of life without Will. At least she had a good excuse this time.a true excuse for getting hurt or being away. She couldn't count the numerous number of times she had lied to cover up her bruises, cuts and scrapes, not to mention the times where she had to go and meet Vaughn or go on missions.  
  
Sydney sighed. The missions were something she'd never forget, no matter how long ago they had been. Missions were usually an exhilarating experience. Despite the pain, she had enjoyed most of them. But one thing she never looked forward to was when she got home and had to explain the bruises to Francie and Will. Sydney wasn't a violent girl; in their eyes anyway. But she hated lying to her friends, no matter how dangerous it was.  
  
Recently, since she had become a double, the risks were all too much .She had to lie to more and more people and sometimes the stress got to her. The SD-6 missions she hated, until her counter mission. Then she was all too happy to make the copies of disks or photograph the documents. everytime she did, she felt a little part of SD-6 whither away. She longed for the day SD-6 were brought down and she could live a normal life. But she knew, that even when she wasn't an agent anymore, the scars would still be there, and they'd never disappear.  
  
Sydney shook the thoughts from her head and continued to walk towards Will's office. It was weird though, as much as she didn't want there to be an article on SD-6, she hoped there was. Maybe because if there was, she didn't have to worry as much as she could just destroy it. However, if she didn't find anything, it didn't necessarily mean good news. Will's office was only a few blocks away from the warehouse, and it didn't take her long to get there. As she approched the building, Sydney threw away her finished Slush-O with a content sigh. They really were delicious. 'Must buy some on way back to Will's for Francie. And maybe I'll have one too,' she thought as she entered the building. She stopped in front of Will's secretary. She had curly red hair and looked a little like the grown up Annie. She loved that movie. Especially since that Warbucks guy looked like her dad. She grinned at the thought of her dad singing. "Hi, I'm here to clear out Will Tippin's office," She said. The woman looked at her. "You are?" she said. Sydney nodded, "I guess you and his sister are taking it in shifts or something," the woman said. "What?" Sydney said hoping Amy hadn't seen anything. "His sister. Amy Tippin? She came by earlier. About an hour ago. Poor girl, I guess it got to her. She left with the office only half done. She seemed out of it..." The woman's voice seemed to fade out as Sydney was overcome with fear and worry. A sick feeling seemed to take over her stomach and she was in danger of showing the whole office what she had for lunch. "Are you ok? You look sick," the woman asked cautiously. Sydney nodded. "I'm just...I didn't know she was here. Do you mind if I..." Sydney motioned towards Will's office. The woman nodded and Sydney almost ran inside. She looked around. Most of the place had been cleared but there were still some things left. Sydney gulped as she frantically looked through Will's computer for anything.  
  
b Vaughn's Office /b Vaughn laid back in his chair thinking of the lunch her had shared with Sydney. She had surprised him, no doubt and he smiled at the thought of the first meeting where he had surreptitiously offered her a Slush-O. He was surprised she had remembered, as she had seemed annoyed then. He fiddled with the warm coin in his hand as Weiss, without knocking, knocked him out of his stupor.  
  
"Hey Mike," Weiss called. Vaughn turned to his friend and greeted him. "Want to try out that new Pizza place?" Weiss offered. Vaughn shook his head. "No, I've had lunch," Weiss looked betrayed at Vaughn's confession. "You've already had lunch?" Weiss repeated. Vaughn nodded as Weiss sat down, "When?" "About ten minutes ago," Vaughn said "Weren't you meeting Bristow?" Weiss asked. Vaughn nodded. A look of confusion crossed Weiss' face before realization struck. "You had lunch with Sydney!" Weiss yelled. Vaughn threw a pencil at him to shut him up and hoped no one heard. "Not in public. She surprised me at the warehouse," Vaughn explained in a hushed tone. "Anyway, it was an important meeting. She thinks Will knew about SD-6. She had a dream about it," Vaughn said to his friend. "Awww, she didn't dream about iyou(?)/i" Weiss said mockingly only to be met with another pencil from Vaughn's desk. "Ow!" he said rubbing his shoulder where the sharp point had hit it. "So, did you find anything?" Vaughn gave him the things Sydney and he had found. Weiss looked at them, his eyes widening. "This is some pretty heavy stuff," "I know. This article could blow her whole cover if it falls into the wrong hands," "Where is Bristow now?" Weiss asked genuinely concerned. "Will's office. See if she can try and get it, iif/i there is an article," Vaughn said, almost wondering off into a daydream. Vaughn's cell rang and he looked at Weiss before he picked it up, "Vaughn" he answered "What? The article?" Vaughn clarified. Weiss realised it must have been Sydney. He listened intently. Vaughn creased his forehead, "Sydney, calm down. It might not have been there," Vaughn continued, then he frowned, "Will's sister? Are you sure, maybe- No! Don't go to SD-6! Sloane has given you two weeks off remember? Just go back to Francie, I'll talk to Devlin and Jack," Vaughn finished off the call and sighed. "Bad news?" Weiss asked. "Will's sister got there before Sydney. She might have it," Vaughn explained. He couldn't believe what was happening. If there was an article out there, it could ruin Sydney.  
  
bSD-6 - Sloane's Office/b Sloane finished looking over the article he had in his hands. He sighed before turning to the red headed woman in front of him. He looked at her. "This is good work," he said. Amy simply nodded. "You're truly an asset to SD-6," "Thank you. I brought the article to you because I felt it was a liability to the Alliance. Also, because I think Agent Bristow may have told my brother among other people," "That's why I employed you. I needed someone to keep tabs on Will Tippin and Agent Bristow," Amy nodded to Sloane's words, "You know that Mr Tippin's death was no accident," "Yes," Amy said solemnly "He was a danger. You killed him to protect the Alliance," "And protect you Amy; you're like a daughter to me," Sloane said edging closer to the Agent.  
  
He had mastered his 'like a daughter' routine so many times to several different young female agents. They always seemed to believe him, less so Sydney. She seemed more distance after Danny was killed. That was why he had employed Amy. "What are you going to do about this?" Amy asked. Sloane thought for a minute. "I want you to go home. If Sydney asks you if you found anything, say no. I suspect Sydney's already knows you went before so just say you were feeling emotional. I'll take care of Bristow," Amy nodded and left.  
  
Sloane looked at the article and fed it through the shredder. He picked up the phone and dialled a number. "This is Sloane. I'd like to issue a ib(making all this stuff up now)/b/i Code 175...yes, to be done in Mongolia....two days from now...the name? Yes, Agent Sydney Bristow," Sloane hung up the phone. He had to make up a solo mission to Mongolia by tomorrow.  
  
iTo Be Continued./i  
  
OK, so I figure it's starting to suck now so I may not continue this. Let me know what you think.  
  
Mrs O xXx 


	7. Chapter 7

Sydney and Francie sighed. They had just finished going through Will's house. They'd left things in piles to be packed up later on. Francie glanced at Sydney, she seemed to be distracted.  
  
"You ok?" she asked. Sydney nodded and flashed a smile, which Francie saw straight through, "You're not ok. Syd, I know this is hard," Francie began. Sydney looked at her friend. She didn't know how hard. "In time it'll get easier, not that I'm trying to say we should forget him or anything," Francie knew she was getting nowhere. She looked at Sydney again, this time closer. "I know what's going on!" Francie exclaimed. Sydney snapped her head up.   
"You do?" Sydney questioned. Francie nodded confidently.   
"You're thinking about Danny," Francie saw the look in Sydney's eyes. "Aren't you?" she asked, less confident.   
"I am now," Sydney muttered. Francie sheepishly apologised, which Sydney dismissed, "Don't worry. It's just…I've got a lot on my mind," Sydney told her friend. Francie looked around.  
  
"Do you want another Slush-O?" she asked. Sydney smiled broadly.   
"Why? Did you like it?" Sydney asked. Francie nodded violently.   
"I love them. Why didn't you tell me about them earlier?"  
"I never really tried them…Vau- a friend introduced them to me," Sydney hoped she didn't let anything noticeably slip. Luckily, Francie didn't catch it.   
"Well, tell your friend that they've got good taste,"  
"I will," Sydney said, finishing off the very last drop of her Slush-O. Just then Sydney's pager rang. She looked at the message '911'. She cursed Sloane.   
"What?" Francie asked. Sydney looked at her friend as she got up.   
"I've got to go to work," Sydney said apologetically. Francie groaned.   
"I thought Sloane gave you time off. What do the bank want now?"  
"That's what I need to find out. Maybe he just…I don't know, wants to tell me the status of one of the deals. Maybe it's just to check up on things," Sydney said as she got her things together. "I'll meet you at home, ok? I won't be long," Sydney promised as she left for Credit Dauphine.  
  
SD-6 - Sloane's Office   
Sydney sat alone with Dixon and Marshall waiting for Sloane to arrive. She wondered where her father was. Sloane sauntered in the annoying way he did, making Sydney look at him with hate raging in her eyes. By the time Sloane looked at her, the look wasn't gone – only a flicker of it remained.   
"I'm sorry to call you out in this moment of mourning Sydney, but there is some very important work that needs to be done," Sydney slowly nodded in acknowledgement as Sloane continued "We've received word of a document located in a warehouse in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar," Sloane projected a picture of a warehouse on the screen. "It is a military warehouse so there are a lot of guards and cameras around. The document is in a room on the top floor, it should be easy to find,"   
  
"What's so important about this document?" Sydney asked. Sloane licked his lips.   
"It's Rambaldi," Sloane replied. Sydney nodded. 'Explains a lot,' she thought to herself. "You need to get into the warehouse posing as the daughter of one of the Majors, Fareeq Tuminsu," Sloane switched the picture to a surveillance photo of a woman about Sydney's age. "As you can see, his daughter has an extravagant taste in clothes," he said motioning to the PVC catsuit Major Tuminsu's daughter modelled. "You will go alone. Dixon will remain here, keeping a track of where you are and directing you," Sydney looked over at Dixon. A solo mission?   
Sloane turned to Marshall. "Marshall?"  
"Ah, yes. Well, Miss Bristow…um…" Marshall fumbled with a pair of earrings, "These are a pair of earrings, which is fairly obvious. Anyway, they look very normal, but its actually a tracking device. With these, Dixon will be able to see where you are in the building. He'll have a radar screen and a set of blueprints so he can…you know, direct you," Marshall finished off. "Oh, and I took the liberty of making them the same colour of your outfit…" Marshall mumbled at the end. Sydney smiled.   
"You will leave tonight," Sloane said passing Sydney her details. She nodded before she followed Dixon and Marshall out the room. She needed to find her father.  
  
Jack's House   
"Did you know Sloane was sending me to Mongolia?" Sydney asked as she walked through her father's front door. Her father gave her a blank look.  
"He is? I haven't heard of any recent operations. I thought her granted you leave? Drink?" Jack offered. Sydney nodded.  
"Water, please. He did. But then he said there is a Rambaldi document in a warehouse there,"  
  
"I thought we were done with Rambaldi. He's never mentioned it to me?" Jack handed his daughter a glass of water and took one for himself.   
"Me too. He's also sending me on my own," Jack almost spat out his water.  
"What? What happened to Dixon?" he asked.   
"I don't know. He's going to guide me from LA. Marshall got a tracking device. It's heavily guarded and I have to pose as Major Tuminsu's daughter; whoever he is," Jack made no reply. Sydney looked at her dad and waved her hand in front of his face, "Earth to Spydaddy…hello?" she called jokingly.  
  
"I'm sorry, honey. But…I was under the impression Tuminsu was dead. I'm sure of it," Sydney's yes widened.   
"You think there's something up? Maybe he's trying to see if I'm a double. He's done it before," Sydney reminded him.   
"Maybe…" Jack faltered, "I'll check it out, I'll speak to you tonight," Jack told her.  
"Dad, I'm leaving tonight. I've already made a dead drop for Vaughn," She told him. Jack cursed Sloane. "Look, if you find anything out, tell me or Vaughn. I can't get out of this. Maybe it's nothing," Jack wasn't totally convinced. He knew how deceitful Sloane was.   
"Maybe it's something. Please be careful. I'll find out whatever I can. Talk to Vaughn," Jack told her. She nodded. He sighed, "I love you Sydney,"  
She smiled, "I love you too, Dad," she said planting a kiss on his cheek.  
  
The Warehouse   
Sydney and Vaughn stood in uncomfortable silence. It was strange Sloane wanted Sydney to go out on a solo mission, especially since he had granted her leave due to Will's accident. Sydney bit her lip, something was up - she didn't know what; maybe she didn't want to know - but she knew she had to go on this mission.   
  
"You're clear on your counter mission?" Vaughn asked for the third time that night. Sydney nodded.  
"Take pictures of the files Sloane wants. I got it. Same old, same old," Sydney said whispering the last words. Vaughn looked at her with those piercing green eyes.   
"Syd…this is different. It seems…" Vaughn searched for the right words.   
"Fixed?" Sydney finished off for him, "I know. Maybe he just wants to make sure I'm not a double agent…like that last time," Sydney reassured; herself rather than Vaughn.  
  
"But still…we can't keep dibs on you like before," Sydney nodded in agreement. Vaughn sighed. "I just…I want you to be careful," his voice seemed softer. He inched closer. Sydney kept her eyes on him, "If anything should happen to you…I don't…I'd have thought I'd failed you," Vaughn knew he had to keep himself professional, but with every day it seemed harder and harder.   
  
"If you lost me, I'd have thought I'd failed you," Sydney added with a small laugh. Vaughn didn't see the funny side of it.   
"No. You've done more work in a year than the CIA have done since this operation began. I can't lose you," Vaughn said.   
"Yeah, because that'll look bad on your report," Sydney didn't know why she kept trying to joke around about this, she was as scared as Vaughn was.   
"No, not the agency, I can't lose you," Vaughn said more compassionately. Sydney noticed that by now, Vaughn was right in front of her. She could see her reflection in his emerald eyes. His eyes were visibly tearing.   
  
Before she knew what was happening, their lips came crashing together like a tidal wave to the rocks.   
"You won't lose me…" she said in between breaths, "I won't let you,"  
  
~*~*~*~*TBC*~*~*~*~ 


	8. Chapter 8

Later On That Night – Sydney's Room   
  
Somehow, Sydney had managed to get home. The kiss had taken most of her energy from her. She hadn't expected it – she hadn't expected Vaughn to initiate it either. He always seemed to be more in control and professional.  
  
All she could think about for the last hour was Vaughn…what he was doing, what he was thinking, what he was wearing… Sydney couldn't help it if she had unnatural thoughts about her handler – especially after tonight's events.   
  
She lay on her bed, silently staring at the ceiling and let her thoughts consume her. She wondered what would happen now. She knew it was wrong and she knew of the consequences if the CIA or her father found out. Would Vaughn be taken off as her handler…well, duh, that was inevitable. She probably would never see him again and she'd be in so much trouble with her father.   
  
Even if the CIA never found out – she may have ruined everything she'd had with Vaughn. It had taken her a while to trust him or even respect him, but now he was considered to be her closest friend; even more so than Francie, who she'd known for close to seven years. She knew she'd have to phone him, so they could talk and make sure that things hadn't been ruined. Sydney had wanted this for a long time and now that it had happened, things were a bit of a blur.   
  
What if he didn't even like her in that way? Okay Syd, now you're being silly, she told herself, remember the time that Weiss guy told you Vaughn had memorised your file?. Sydney knew Vaughn would do anything for her, and she was sure she'd do the same. Sydney sat up in her bed and picked up her phone, staring at it momentarily debating with herself whether to do it now or wait until after the trip.   
  
As she began to dial the numbers, her alarm clock beeped to signify 9pm. She groaned, and put her cell down on the table. It'd have to wait. Right now, it was time for her trip. Sydney decided to peek into Francie's room to say goodbye. Francie spotted her.  
  
"Aw, honey. You going?" Francie asked as she saw the bags. Sydney nodded as she went over to hug her friend goodbye. "I can't believe they're doing this to you," Francie continued, referring to the short notice of the trip while she was supposed to be on leave.   
"Neither can I. But someone's got to do it," Sydney said forcing a smile. She was worried about this trip, but then again, she was worried about almost every trip.   
"When you come back, I'm going to make you quit!" Francie said, echoing the words Will had muttered many times before. Sydney nodded just to make her friend happy.   
"We'll see," She said quietly as she hugged her friend one last time. "Can you do me a favour?" Sydney asked. Francie nodded. "Can you hand in my English paper tomorrow? It's on my bed," Sydney requested. Francie nodded.  
"Sure. Be careful! Alaska is a dangerous place!" Francie joked as Sydney left the house.   
  
Francie watched as Sydney hailed a cab and drove off towards the airport. Francie sighed as she shut the front door and went into Sydney's room to get the paper. She looked at the title and scrunched up her face. She didn't know how Sydney could write essay after essay. But she supposed Sydney was used to it. Just then, Sydney's cell phone rang, She must have forgotten it Francie gathered as she answered it.   
"Hello?" Francie said.  
"Sydney?" A rushed voice asked on the phone.  
"No, this is her roommate. Can I help you?" Francie asked.   
"It's Jack, Sydney's father. Can I talk to her?" Jack asked. Francie looked around.  
"I'm sorry Mr Bristow," Francie said, "Sydney just left for the airport. She's going on a business trip. She forgot her cell," Francie told him. She heard Jack swear.   
"Ok," Jack finally said, "Thank you. If she calls, tell her to call me straight away," Jack said as he hung up.   
  
Jack's Car  
  
Jack Bristow drove through the traffic and took a sharp right turn, making the brakes squeal. He didn't want to do this, but it seemed like his only choice. He pulled up to the apartment and raced up to the door. He pressed the bell several times. He could have called but it seemed useless. The door opened and Michael Vaughn stood in a t-shirt and jeans.   
"Mr Bristow," He said surprised to see Sydney's father on his doorstep, "Why are you—I can explain!" Vaughn said as it clicked to him why the seemingly angry Jack was here. He'd heard about the kiss. Jack barged in and surveyed the apartment. The boy had taste, Jack had to admit, but that wasn't the point. He turned to Vaughn who was babbling something about a mistake and something he shouldn't have done.   
  
"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, Vaughn stopped.   
"You mean you aren't here because of the…wait, why are you here?" Vaughn asked running his hand through his freshly washed hair.   
"It's Sydney," Jack said. "She may be in trouble,"  
"Wh…what? How?" Vaughn asked as he offered Jack a seat, which Jack declined.   
"The mission, I assume it seems strange to you," Vaughn nodded as Jack continued, "I did some checking up on the details…apparently Sloane's set her up,"  
"What?! You mean it's a trap?" Vaughn asked, this wasn't good, "Is she going to be alright?"  
"I don't think so. He's not going to capture her…he's going to kill her," Jack said as anger flashed in his eyes. Vaughn looked up at Jack.  
"What are we going to do?" Vaughn asked as he got his jacket on, "We are going after her right? What did Devlin say?"   
"He hasn't said anything. He doesn't know yet. I need you to help her," Jack told his daughter's case officer. "I can't go to Mongolia because Sloane will get suspicious…however, I think I can set it up for you to retrieve her and take her to a safe house before we can extract her," Jack hastily explained. Vaughn followed.   
"Are you clear?" Jack asked. Vaughn nodded.  
"Let's get her," Vaughn said following Jack out of his apartment.   
  
TBC… 


	9. Chapter 9

[I][u][b] If Tomorrow Never Comes [/b] - Chapter 9 [/I][/u]  
  
[b]Mongolia[/b]  
From the moment Sydney got off the plane and set foot in Mongolia, she knew there was something wrong. The place looked far too familiar to look safe. Well, obviously no mission was safe…but this looked to weird.   
  
Sydney shook off the feeling and carried on making her way to the warehouse. She looked around the area. No guards. She frowned. As if the trip couldn't get any weirder.   
  
She tapped her tracker earring and spoke into it as Marshall had also made it a communicator.   
  
"Dixon?" she said as she entered the warehouse freely, expecting to be met by some guards. No suck luck. "Dixon?" she repeated absent mindedly. There was no reply. She carefully took the earring off and looked at it carefully. It didn't seem to be working. She scowled.   
  
This was getting scary.   
  
Never the less, she decided to go on…without Dixon reading out the blueprints, she'd have to find her own way. If all else failed, then maybe she could give the CIA the Rambaldi document.   
  
Sydney explored further into the warehouse, she was growing increasingly concerned about the circumstances. She shuddered as she passed another locked door. It was too creepy.   
  
Finally, Sydney found herself in a long, white, corridor. It looked somewhat promising and so she delved further. As she went further and further into the passage, she was drawn to a particular door.   
  
With her natural spy instincts, she opened it…too easily. Sydney walked in cautiously and looked around. Almost as soon as she lifted up her head to look at the ceiling, the door slammed shut and the lights went out.  
  
Pitch black.   
  
Sydney tried to look around and find the door but it was almost impossible. As she fumbled around for her torch she carried in case of emergencies. She managed to find it and she flicked it on…it settled on a glint of red hair. Sydney froze.  
"Hello Sydney," a voice said.   
  
  
TBC….  
  
  
Pretty short I know, but the best I could do. It will get better……promise! 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Chapters 1-21 are posted up at http://sd-1.com/boards  
  
[b][u]If Tomorrow Never Comes[b] - Part 10[/u]  
  
Sydney stood still trying to comprehend what she saw in front of her. It couldn't be, could it? Her deceased best friend's sister in Mongolia? The torch she held was frozen in position. The woman's hair glinted as she moved.  
  
"I've been waiting for you," The woman said.  
"Amy?" Sydney choked out. The woman smirked in the blackout as Sydney searched for her friend.  
"Surprised?" Amy asked. "Will's little sister has a secret life that I believe you already have been introduced to," Amy said a little patronisingly.   
"How?" Was the only word that escaped Sydney's lips. She wanted answers. She wanted to know why Amy was where she was.  
"A man," Amy said, "He approached me during Danny's funeral. He said that the government might be interested in talking to me. When I asked why, he told me-"  
"-that you fit a profile," Sydney finished off holding back tears, "You work for SD-6," she said barely above a whisper.   
  
There was no answer. Sydney heard footsteps walking away from her and then the lights burst open. Sydney blinked several times, trying to get used to the new atmosphere. Once regaining focus, she scanned the room for Amy. There she was, standing in front of Sydney in the same attire as Sydney had worn to Taipei to get the Mueller device.   
Amy put her hands on her hips.   
  
"I'm doing my bit for the country - unlike you," Amy said looking Sydney up and down with disgust. "You're a traitor," Amy said. Sydney looked at her.   
"What? Amy…" Sydney tried to explain to Amy, but the redhead would have none of it.   
"Sloane's told me what you did. You told Will - my brother - that SD-6 was an enemy of the United States. He wrote an article on it and that would have blown the CIA cover that SD-6 had," Amy explained, clearly angry with Sydney.  
"Sloane told you that?" Sydney asked. Amy had been lied to. "Sloane killed Will," Amy looked at the ground.   
"He did what was necessary. I don't blame him. If only it was you," Amy said. Sydney noticed that Amy was holding something by the side of her hip and that she was blocking the door.   
  
"Amy…listen to me. You've been lied to. SD-6 is part of the Alli-"  
"Sloane told me you'd do this," Amy interrupted. "He said that you've been working against us. You were the cause of Will's death. The same way you were responsible for Danny's death," Amy said. The name of her dead fiancé caught Sydney's attention. Sydney was shocked to the core.   
  
"You killed to innocent men…and that agent Noah you used to go out with. You are a spineless killer," Amy said. Sydney looked at Amy with tears in her eyes. Sloane had twisted everything that had happened. Amy sighed.  
"I always liked you Sydney. I thought you were a nice person and I was glad that I knew you. But now…now I know you for who you really are," Amy brought the object by her hip in line with Sydney's face.  
"And it's my job to end it," she said.   
  
Sydney gulped, she didn't know what to do. She could feel the CIA issue gun by her own side, but couldn't bring herself to pick it up and point it at her friend. Sydney had been trained to kill anyone who endangered her life, but this was her friend, someone who'd been given the wrong information. Sydney just couldn't do it. Instead, she just looked at the gun; terror, hurt and distress flashing in her eyes.  
  
Just as Sydney thought it was the end, the door flew open and a man dressed in black invaded in. There was a blur of colour as Sydney witnessed the man and Amy engage in a fight. It seemed that Amy was winning until the man displayed an excellent kick that knocked the redhead down to the ground.   
  
Sydney looked at Amy who didn't move before being approached by the exhausted man. She looked at his eyes through the ski mask and sighed with relief as she saw a pair of green eyes. The mask was pulled off to reveal a panting Vaughn who extended his hand out to her.   
  
"Syd, we've got to go," he said. Sydney looked at Vaughn and took his hand as he pulled her away from the room. Sydney looked at the unconscious Amy and stopped.  
"She's okay. I've only knocked her out. We have to go before she wakes up and calls backup," Vaughn urged. Sydney didn't say anything; she just closed the door and ran.   
  
[b]To be continued[/b]  
  
Ok, so I'm not very good at writing fight scenes. It's sort of a crappy chapter, but it does get interesting…trust me! ^_^  
  
Mrs O xXx 


	11. Chapter 11

[b][u]If Tomorrow Never Comes[b] - Part 11[/u]  
  
[b]Safehouse[/b]  
Sydney and Vaughn ran the seemingly long distance to the CIA safehouse that was neatly hidden away on near a hill (I don't know if there is any hills in Mongolia, but pretend there are ;) ). They had run purely on adrenaline and hadn't stopped once.   
  
Vaughn reached the small cabin first and panted heavily as he punched in the code to open the door. Sydney, meanwhile, gazed across to the other end of the hill where she could still see the warehouse in the distance. She knew Amy was still alive and that her cover was blown.   
  
A hand wrapped around her arm and gently urged her inside to the warmth of the safehouse.   
"Sydney?" Vaughn said quietly, yet urgently. "Come on. It's not safe out here," He said looking around for tails. Sydney remains where she was.   
  
"They've got her, Vaughn," she said barely above a whisper and choked with tears.   
  
"I know, Syd…I know. Why don't you come inside? You can get cleaned up and catch some sleep," Sydney took hold of Vaughn's hand and clenched it tightly, letting her lead him in.  
  
Sydney marvelled at the quality of the safehouse. It looked like nothing from the outside, but in the inside it was almost like home. Vaughn keyed in the code to lock the door before giving a tour to Sydney.   
"There's a kitchen in there. The bathroom through there and over there is um…that's our…[b]your[/b] bedroom," Vaughn fumbled. Sydney managed a small smile at his slip of tongue and nodded.  
  
"We're safe," he told her changing the subject, "I'll make you some food while you're in the shower," Vaughn offered moving behind the couch and pulling up a big duffel bag.  
  
"Your dad brought a change of clothes for you. He didn't know what you wanted so he bought a selection of clothes, your real passport and this…" Vaughn pulled out a medium sized bear with fluffy golden hair covering it. Sydney grinned.  
  
"WAFFLES!" she exclaimed as she snatched the bear from Vaughn. He grinned as he saw her face light up. He cocked an eyebrow up at her.   
  
"I'm not going to ask," he said as he passed the duffel bag to her. Sydney just kept grinning even though she was going a shade of red.   
  
"Thank you," she said.   
  
"It's only a bear," Vaughn replied as he took off his bulletproof vest.   
  
"No, for everything. Thank you for coming for me. If it wasn't for you…I'd be dead," she said quietly.   
  
"Go have a shower. We'll talk later," he promised as she gratefully nodded and went into her bedroom.  
  
[b] The Shower [/b]  
The shower is always the best place to gather your thoughts. Think about what's happened, what will happen and what you want to happen. That's why Sydney loved taking showers straight after and before trips. The shower was also the place she told Danny she was a spy.   
  
Sydney let the hot water run down her body. Not many bruises this time but she still had the one from the trip before Will had died. She frowned as she inspected the bluey-purple blob with yellow spots, which she had affectionately named Barry - since that was the name of the guard.   
  
Amy was now one of them. Sydney's cover had most definitely been blown and she was stuck in a safehouse with her handler whom she had shared a kiss with hours before. She had plenty of things to thing about, but she didn't feel like thinking about them.   
All she wanted to do was crawl into her bed at home, go shopping with Francie, write a paper for school - even take a test. Anything than have this life. Sydney wondered what SD-6 would have told Francie if Sydney had been killed. Francie had already lost one friend this week; she didn't need to experience another loss.   
  
Sydney felt the water start to run cold and snapped out of her thoughts. She turned off the valve and prayed that there would be enough hot water for Vaughn after all he had saved her life.   
She dried off and changed into a pair of sweats and a jumper, thanking her father for having [I]some[/I] fashion sense.   
  
She came out of her bedroom, drying her damp hair with a. She saw Vaughn's back was turned and took the opportunity to watch the image in front of her. Vaughn was cooking some sort of delicacy (Sydney couldn't see what) while dancing to a song that played low on the CD player. Sydney smiled and rested her head against the doorframe, holding in a giggle. Vaughn didn't notice her presence until he turned around and glanced up. He almost jumped back in shock and blushed.   
  
"Syd…I didn't…I um…how long have you been there?" he asked cringing with embarrassment. [I]Nice one Mike, make an idiot of yourself(!)[/I] he cursed himself.   
  
"Long enough to see why you said you hated dancing," Sydney replied as she came over to see what was cooking.   
  
"I didn't say I hated it, I'm just not very good at it," Vaughn said as he lifted up a spoon of sauce for Sydney to try.   
  
"You were ok…mmm, that's nice," she said licking her lips. "You never told me you could cook,"  
  
"You never asked," Vaughn replied. Sydney gave him that. She realized how much she didn't know about the man she spent the last year working with. "I happen to be a culinary god when it comes to cooking," Vaughn smirked. It was true, instead of his mother sending him food; it was the other way around.   
  
"Glad to see you're modest about it!" Sydney grinned, "Francie does the cooking at home. I just eat it," she said taking another taste of the sauce. Vaughn playfully hit her hand and she stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"What are you, four?" he asked. Sydney grinned.  
  
"Well, I need some way to wind down. I can't be 'Serious Sydney' all the time," Sydney glanced around and went for the spaghetti.   
  
"Hey!" Vaughn complained, "Can't you wait until dinner?" he asked. Sydney shook her head.  
  
"Me hungry. Plane food no good," she said as she took a handful.  
  
"Make sure your hands are clean and talk properly. You are not from the stone age," Vaughn said firmly, yet good-naturedly.   
  
"What are you? My mother?" she asked  
  
"I hope not," Vaughn teased. "Dinner will be ready in five minutes," he told her,   
  
"Go watch TV," he suggested.   
  
"There's a TV?" she asked searching frantically in sight of one. Vaughn nodded.  
  
"The CIA keep it hidden so if it gets raided, nothing is lost," He explained as he opened a thin cabinet and revealed a plasma TV screen. Sydney was at a loss for words. Just how much money did the CIA have?  
  
"Wow! I would kill for one of those at home," she said looking for the remote.  
  
"Well, this is one of the new safehouses that the CIA have built. Sometimes people stay here for months," Vaughn said going back into the kitchen area. Sydney nodded and took pleasure in watching a bit of Friends before Vaughn announced dinner was on.  
  
Their first dinner together mainly passed in silence. They had had lunch in the warehouse before, but they had felt a little more comfortable there. Without the dank walls and chain gates surrounding them, they felt a little bit more uncomfortable even after the friendly natter they had a few minutes before.   
  
"So," Vaughn exhaled. "What do you think?" he asked. Sydney looked up from her plate and nodded a few times.   
  
"It's great," She said, "I'm just really hungry and this is fabulous," she said. Vaughn nodded appreciatively and continued eating.   
  
~*~*~*~*  
  
[b]TBC…[/b] 


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: The song is 'Falling Into You' by Celine Dion.   
  
[b][u]If Tomorrow Never Comes [/b] - Part 12[/u]  
  
After dinner, Sydney and Vaughn curled up onto the couch and watched a movie, while they quietly talked about their plans.  
  
"There's a car in the garage. The keys are under the windowsill. Tomorrow morning, we'll get a call from the base and they'll tell us where we should meet them. Then they'll fly us back to LA," Vaughn explained. Sydney looked down at her nails, "Syd?" Vaughn asked. He hoped she'd been listening. She didn't look up.  
  
"My cover is blown, isn't it?" she asked.   
  
"I think it's safe to presume that. We need to get you into CIA custody as soon as possible. We can't take any chances,"  
  
"When SD-6 hears about this, they'll be sure to find me,"  
  
"They won't," Vaughn reassured. Sydney looked up at him.   
  
"How can you be so sure? If they don't get me, they'll get my father, or Francie…"  
  
"Your father is taking care of it. If your cover is blown, it doesn't mean his isn't. We still can take them down," Vaughn explained, reaching for Sydney's hand…for extra comfort that is. Sydney took it gratefully and played with his fingers while she thought about what could happen.   
  
"I can't believe they took her, Vaughn. I thought that she'd be okay…" Sydney sniffed, "She's not like them. She's kind and smart. She loved Will and she would never let them do this to him!" Sydney tried to keep the tears from falling, but failed miserably.   
  
"Do what?" Vaughn asked giving her a gentle prompt.  
  
"She said that Sloane killed Will. That it wasn't an accident. She looked so calm saying that…like she was okay with SD-6 killing him," Sydney explained, she held on to Vaughn's hand harder without realising the pain she was causing him. Vaughn gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything.   
  
"Sloane is like that. He can manipulate anyone. You have to remember that it wasn't her choice, she's still the same Amy - she's just…she's confused," Sydney looked up at Vaughn, his soft green eyes displaying the reassurance she needed. She smiled slightly and looked back down, gasping as she noticed the red hint in his hands.   
  
"Oh, Vaughn, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you bad?" she asked flinging a hand to her mouth and letting go of her handler's hurt hand. Vaughn shook his head. He knew that it would turn a nice blue in the morning, but she didn't need to know that.   
  
"Nah, I'm ok. The important thing is if you are," he said. Sydney nodded.  
  
"I'll be okay," she sighed, "I just want to get my mind off this at the moment," she said.   
  
"Well," Vaughn said stretching, "What do you want to do? We have a whole night to fill," he glanced at Sydney who grinned. "What?" he asked not liking this one bit.   
  
"I think it's time for me to give you advice," she said cryptically as she slinked off the couch and switched of the TV.  
  
"With what?" Vaughn asked. Sydney said nothing but moved to the CD player.  
  
"I'm going to teach you to dance!" she said as music filled the room. Vaughn had no time to protest as she had already made a grab for his hands and was pulling him off the couch.   
  
"Syd…I…no!" he attempted to get out of it but, as much as he hated to admit it, she was *slightly* stronger than him. She pulled him close and wrapped his arms around her waist before placing her hands around his neck.  
  
"Now, just follow my lead. Move gently to the music and let it take you away," she advised looking up to him and resting her head against his chest as they swayed slowly to the music.   
  
[*]  
And in your eyes I see ribbons of color  
I see us inside of each other  
I feel my unconscious merge with yours  
And I hear a voice say, "What's his is hers"  
  
I'm falling into you  
This dream could come true  
And it feels so good falling into you  
[*]  
  
Vaughn gulped as he tried to slow down his racing heart. He was sure she could hear it and he hoped that he wouldn't begin to sweat, like he did in 9th grade with Maria Thomas at the end of year dance and he ended up needing to go to the loo in the middle of the song. Needless to say she didn't talk to him again. Before, he and Sydney had never been able to dance like this because of the risks. But here he was, in the middle of nowhere, with no cameras, bugs or people watching and they were alone.   
  
[*]  
I was afraid to let you in here  
Now I have learned love can't be made in fear  
The walls begin to tumble down  
And I can't even see the ground  
  
I'm falling into you  
This dream could come true  
And it feels so good falling into you  
[*]  
  
Sydney listened to Vaughn's heartbeat. He was nervous. She was too. Well, who wouldn't be? She was dancing alone with her gorgeous handler and things couldn't really get any better. Well, she *could* do without SD-6 finding about her being a double and the risks of Francie and her father being hurt…but still, it was a moment she'd been waiting for.   
  
[*]  
Falling like a leaf, falling like a star  
Finding a belief, falling where you are  
  
Catch me, don't let me drop!  
Love me, don't ever stop!  
[*]  
  
When Vaughn had first heard about the trap set for Sydney by SD06, he'd panicked. Jack had wanted him to go and get her and Vaughn was scared he'd let her down. Not just Sydney, but Jack too. Not forgetting the whole of the CIA. Sydney was an 'asset' to Devlin, but to him…she was his life. The one thing he wanted, and the one thing he couldn't have.   
  
[*]  
So close your eyes and let me kiss you  
And while you sleep I will miss you  
  
I'm falling into you  
This dream could come true  
And it feels so good falling into you  
[*]  
  
Sydney closed her eyes, really keeping them shut, and for the first time since Danny, she felt like she was safe. She loved the feeling of being in someone's arms, something she'd lost when she'd lost Danny. But it wasn't the same in Vaughn's arms. With Danny, she had the guilt of lying to him…but with Vaughn - with Vaughn, it was bliss.  
  
[*]  
Falling like a leaf, falling like a star  
Finding a belief, falling where you are  
  
Falling into you  
Falling into you  
Falling into you  
[*]  
  
The song ended, but the two didn't part. They held on to each other. Each thinking the same thing. Each wanting the same thing. They both knew that had to talk about 'the kiss', but neither moved. They wanted this moment to last forever. No complications. No danger. No one but them.   
  
Sydney slowly moved her head from Vaughn's chest and looked up at him. His eyes flickered as they moved over to look at her eyes and the two inched closer, coming so close, they could feel the warmth of the other's breath.   
  
Their hopes of reaching anything were dashed as the phone trilled. They reluctantly broke apart as Vaughn reached to answer the phone.  
  
"Hello?" he asked, out of breath. Sydney listened as she heard him mumble and agree with something. He placed it down after a few more seconds and sighed.  
  
"Who was it?" she asked wondering who would interrupt them during something important.   
  
"The CIA. We've got the extraction time. 5.30 in the morning," he said. She looked at her watch. 2.47am. She sighed.   
  
"I guess we should get to bed then," she commented. Vaughn nodded. Sydney paused…she wondered if she should, but realising how tired she actually was, she decided against it and made the first move away.   
  
"Goodnight," she said as she disappeared into her bedroom.   
  
"Goodnight," Vaughn called as he waited for a moment, lingering outside her door before moving into his own.   
  
Inside her room, Sydney listened intently for his door to shut. She sat on her bed and put her head in her hands. She knew what she had to do. And that didn't include staying here. She eyed her duffle bag and sighed again. This was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do, but she had to do it.  
  
~*~*~*  
  
TBC… 


	13. Chapter 13

[b][u]If Tomorrow Never Comes [/b] - Part 13[/u]  
  
[b]Next Morning[/b]  
Vaughn reluctantly awoke. It was almost four thirty in the morning and they had to leave in an hour. He stretched; rubbing his eyes sleepily and went to knock for Sydney. He wasn't used to having her with him when he woke in the mornings so he was excited about seeing her. Hopefully she was still asleep so he could watch her sleep.   
  
He made his way to her room and gently knocked on the door. No answer. He tried again before slowly opening her door. He expected to see a sleeping Sydney but instead saw an empty bed that looked as if it hadn't even been slept in. He frowned, wondering if she was in the shower, but he couldn't hear any water running.   
  
Then he panicked. He ran around the safehouse looking for her. He checked the lock on the doors and windows to make sure no one had come in during the night and taken her. They were all secure and the door was still locked. No one could get in or out without the code.   
  
Vaughn sat on her bed, wondering where she was. Then he saw the piece of paper on the desk with his name written neatly on it. Through all the panic, he hadn't seen it before. His heart jumped as he realised what it may contain. He picked up the paper and read…and read…and re-read it again.   
  
[I] Dear Vaughn,  
  
I'm sorry for leaving you like this, but I just needed to get away. What happened with Amy last night just confirmed my greatest fears - nothing was real anymore.   
Over the years, the line between lies and the truth blurred. Its come to the point where I don't know who I am anymore. I can't trust anyone…not even myself. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt anyone close to me…to hurt an innocent. I've done that more than once. Danny died because I wanted to be honest and look what happened then. Will died because he wanted to know the truth. And Amy is working for SD-6…who knows what could happen to her.   
I know that my cover is blown now. There's no point in staying. Not any more. I'm not going to say I've left because I want to 'find myself' even though it's partly true. I'm leaving because I'm sick of this life. I hate it. I feel as if the only way out is death.  
Ever since my mother died, I've felt detached from life. Sloane offered me a way out and for 7 years, I felt as if I had a purpose in life. Until I learnt the truth. As if I wasn't confused already, my father came and told me who he really was working for.   
The day I joined the CIA, was the day when I felt life was really starting. I knew it wasn't going to be easy to go behind the back of the man I trusted for years, but you helped me and eased the transition. I know we never really got off on the right foot, but you've become my best friend.   
Vaughn, over the past year, you've helped me more than I can put into words. You've listened to me ramble on about silly little things; you've been there when I've needed you most…you've saved me in more ways than one and for that I'm truly grateful. You didn't need to be there for me, but you were and you made me feel safe for the first time in seven years.  
Tell my father that I love him and that I'm sorry. I should be tougher than this and I'm sorry to have let him down. Tell him I don't blame him for anything, he shouldn't feel guilty. He's the one who told me the truth and I'm sorry that I didn't believe him when he told me. I thought he was cold when my mother died. That he didn't care about me, but know I know that he'd just learnt the truth about the wife he loved and adored. It's been a tough road and finally, after 20 or so years, we've finally worked some things out. I love him. I always have and I don't want him to think otherwise.   
But it's my turn to be cold now. I need to find things out for myself. I need to detach myself from my current life. To be free of the chains that have kept me trapped for years. I have to leave, it's the only choice I have.   
I don't know when I'll be back, maybe never. I don't want you to look for me or try and bring me back. I know Sloane will already be sending out his goons to 'take care of me'. I don't need looking after. I need to be alone.   
  
Be careful, Vaughn. Live your life. Be free. Enjoy it while you can, because you never know when it'll change.   
  
I love you. [/I]  
  
[b]Somewhere Miles Away[/b]  
Sydney continued driving along the long stretch of road. She'd been driving for almost 2 hours with the car that she and Vaughn were supposed to have gone to he extraction point. She hadn't realised that they needed it until she was a few miles from the safehouse and by then she didn't want to turn back in case she changed her mind.   
Sydney had almost changed her mind when she went to check if Vaughn was asleep. She had cried when she realised it would be the last time she saw his face, his ruffled hair and the green eyes she had come to love. Then silently, she left the letter on her desk, picked up the keys, entered the door code and left the person she trusted most sleeping peacefully. Sydney wiped the tears that fell from her eyes as she sped along the road, not even looking back at her guardian angel.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
[b]TBC[/b]  
  
ok, so the next chapter will be up ASAP and will fast-forward 2 years.  
  
Keep reading!  
  
Mrs O xXx 


	14. Chapter 14

[u][b][I]If Tomorrow Never Comes[/b] - Part 14 [/u][/I]  
  
[u][b]2 years later[/b][/u]  
[b]Vaughn's Office[/b]  
  
Michael Vaughn played with the infamous coin. He watched it catch the light and shine onto his face. People knew to stay out of the room and leave him in peace when he was doing his paperwork. Of course, 'doing his paperwork' was another word for 'thinking about Sydney'. No one ever asked him about her. All new recruits that asked were just told that she left and he'd never gotten over it. All CIA agents who had been around two years ago knew what had happened, but no one discussed it. But Vaughn knew they still thought about it. Wondered what had happened in the safehouse to years ago.   
  
Two years.  
  
That's how long it had been. That's how much had changed. There had initially been a search to look for her, but when that came up with nothing, Devlin ordered the investigation off, telling Vaughn and Jack that they should attend to more 'pressing matters'. Vaughn refused to give up like that and Devlin warned Vaughn not to pursue it. But fortunately, Jack had intervened and Devlin allowed them to carry on a private investigation in their own time. Thanks to this, Vaughn had won the respect of Jack over the years and the two become friends quickly having bonded over their mutual loss.  
  
[*]  
I am thinking of you  
In my sleepless solitude tonight  
If it's wrong to love you  
Then my heart just won't let me right  
'Cause I've drowned in you  
And I won't pull through  
Without you by my side  
[/*]  
  
Vaughn had been removed as case handler for any agent and sat behind his desk, which he didn't really mind, as he couldn't face handling another agent. Weiss had become a handler of a young new agent and had made sure he didn't overstep the boundary like his best friend had. But lacking the trust and the closeness Sydney had had with Vaughn, Weiss' agent didn't listen to him and was caught by SD-6 - or more precisely - by Amy. The young CIA agent had been careful enough not to say anything about Sydney or the Bristow's, but that is what eventually led to her death.   
  
[*]  
I'd give my all to have  
Just one more night with you  
I'd risk my life to feel  
Your body next to mine  
'cause I can't let go on  
Living in the memory of your song  
I'd give my all for your love tonight  
[/*]  
  
  
Amy Tippin proved to be much more of a problem than first anticipated. The CIA had seen her take out many agents and improve over the years. But the CIA made sure they worked hard to get to where they were now. They were almost at a stage where they could bring SD-6 down - they just needed the right person.   
  
Jack had remained at SD-6, claiming not to have known of Sydney's affiliations. Sloane had bought it, but there was always that risk. Jack spent most of the time secretly monitoring Amy's progress and reporting her weaknesses. Sloane had a lot of faith in Amy and made sure she knew that. Jack knew Sloane only did it to fuel her belief and secure her loyalty in SD-6.  
  
[*]  
Baby can you feel me  
Imagining I'm looking in your eyes  
I can see you clearly  
Vividly emblazoned in my mind  
And yet you're so far  
Like a distant star  
I'm wishing on tonight  
[/*]  
  
Vaughn sighed as he continued to play with the coin. He missed hearing Sydney's voice. He dialled Joey's Pizza a few times in the hope she had returned home, but all he ever got was Francie or Charlie, who had moved in a few months after Sydney had disappeared to help Francie. Vaughn drove past the house a few times a week and kept the voicemail she'd left on his phone. It was the only way of hearing her voice.   
  
[*]  
I'd give my all to have  
Just one more night with you  
I'd risk my life to feel  
Your body next to mine  
'cause I can't let go on  
Living in the memory of your song  
I'd give my all for your love tonight  
[/*]  
  
Vaughn's blood boiled as he remembered what SD-6 had done. The CIA agent that they had killed was passed off as Sydney's body. Francie believed them and buried the agent next to Will, believing it was her friend. Jack had been angry also, but couldn't risk showing it in front of Sloane.   
Vaughn had never been to the grave. He refused to believe that Sydney Bristow was dead - even if the rest of the world believed it.   
  
A knock at the door interrupted Vaughn's reverie. Vaughn didn't look up at the agent.  
"I'm busy," he said quietly but firmly. There was a pause.   
"Mr Vaughn…" Vaughn looked up, prepared to tell the agent off but there was a feeling that sent shivers down his spine that stopped him. The agent took a deep breath.  
  
"Mr Vaughn. We've found her,"  
  
[*]I'd give my all to have  
Just one more night with you  
I'd risk my life to feel  
Your body next to mine  
'cause I can't let go on  
Living in the memory of your song  
I'd give my all for your love tonight  
Give my all for your love  
Tonight  
[/*] 


	15. Chapter 15

The song is 'Separate Lives' by Chris De Burgh. Don't ask me what the French translation is. I have no idea!  
  
[u][b][I]If Tomorrow Never Comes [/b] - Part 15 [/I][/u]  
  
[b]London - Sydney's room[/b]  
Sydney stared at her ceiling. It was funny how the life she'd always wanted was nothing like the life she'd imagined it to be. Sure it was normal - she had a job, a house, a car, even a cat, but yet - there was the lingering feeling that something was missing.   
  
[*]  
Cherie, il est onze heures du soir  
et tu me manques beaucoup;  
je pense … toi toujours...  
toujours.  
[/*]  
  
She'd often wondered what had happened to SD-6. Was it still standing? Had they sent people out for her? What had they told Francie? All the questions burned away at her brain. She longed to talk to Francie for hours on end or ask Dixon about his wife and children. She wished she could walk along the familiar sidewalk that led to her house - her real house - and say hello to people who knew her by 'Sydney Bristow', instead of her new identity 'Megan Winters'. She had only chosen the name after seeing the bottle of perfume at the airport in Mongolia.   
  
[*]  
At separate tables we sit down to eat,  
In separate bedrooms we go to sleep at night,  
I only wish you knew how much,  
You've been on my mind.  
[/*]  
  
But what she really wanted, deep in her lonely heart, was to see Vaughn again. To hear 'Joey's Pizza?' on the other end of the phone and feel her heart do that unique flutter that she hadn't felt in two years. Sydney blinked away tears at the thought of it. Stained in her memory was the way Vaughn peacefully smiled in his sleep - the frown lines still evident, but fainter. Since arriving in England, she'd often found herself dialling his cell phone but never being able to bring herself to press the last digit and anxiously listen to it ring.   
  
[*]  
I think about you when the morning comes,  
I think about you when all my day is done,  
Wondering what you are doing now,  
Are you lonely too?  
[/*]  
  
"Meg!" a voice called from the lounge, "Megan?" Sydney pulled herself into an upright position and wiped away the few tears that were on the verge of falling.   
"Coming!" she called in an english accent. Sydney sighed as she brushed her now short light brown hair that was streaked with golden highlights. She opened her room door and joined Liz who was busy stacking various frozen foods in their freezer.   
"Hey, Meg," her roommate said as she closed the freezer door, "Are you alright?" she added spotting her friend's expression. Sydney nodded as she began to help.  
  
[*]  
Because I - I miss you here tonight,  
And I wish you were by my side,  
And I don't want to let go;  
[/*]  
  
"I'm fine," Sydney said with a small smile, "Why do you ask?"   
"Because you have the same look in your eyes as before," Liz said leaning against the worktop as Sydney put away a packet of biscuits.   
"What look?" Sydney asked pretending not to know what her Australian friend was talking about.   
"The look that says you've been thinking about [I]him[/I]," Liz emphasised on the last word. Sydney looked at her friend guiltily.   
"You know me too well," she sighed. Liz gave off a small smile.   
"I have just the thing. Cookies and cream ice cream!" Liz said presenting Sydney with a tub of their favourite ice cream.   
"Too well!" Sydney repeated as her eyes lighted up slightly.   
  
[*]  
At separate tables we sit down to write,  
The separate letters that never see the light,  
If only we could just agree,  
To read between the lines  
[/*]  
  
Sydney had met Liz at the school where she now worked as an English teacher. Liz taught geography across the hall and the two became friends. Liz was the one who offered Sydney a place to live, which Sydney was only too happy to accept. Still, Sydney was apprehensive in case she was an agent, but soon, these suspicions went away. In many ways, Liz was like Francie but in others, Liz was no-one Sydney had ever met. Hanging out with Liz was as like being 16 again.   
Liz was aware of Sydney's past life. It had all come out one night and although Liz was shocked and confused at first - she still stood by her friend and kept her secret.   
  
[*]  
I want to see you and I know what I will say,  
We must be crazy to throw it all away,  
Never knowing what is lost,  
Before it's all too late  
[/*]  
  
"How much marking have you got tonight?" Liz asked. Sydney shrugged in reply.  
"Just a few books to mark. Why?" Sydney asked before she turned to her friend, "You aren't going to drag me to that club again are you?" she asked. Liz laughed and shook her head.  
"No, I just thought we could double date with Ben and Jerry and watch a movie," Liz said. Sydney nodded. "I got Miss Congeniality," Liz said before realising her mistake, "Oh, Meg…I'm so sorry. I didn't realise!" Liz apologised as Sydney shook her head.  
"No, no! It's fine…really," Sydney insisted. "Anyway, I have some work to do," Sydney said as she disappeared into her bedroom.   
  
[*]  
And I - I miss you here tonight,  
And I wish you were by my side,  
And I don't want to let go;  
  
Yes I - I miss you here tonight,  
And when I hold you by my side,  
Well I'm not gonna let go;  
  
I miss you, I really miss you...  
[/*]  
  
In her bedroom, Sydney let the tears fall down and paint her pillow with the hurt she'd kept in for two long lonely years. 


	16. Chapter 16

Next part is up. Just want to thank all my reviewers for getting me over 100 reviews. THANK YOU!  
Here's the next chapter. The poem read out by Tejal (me!) is by me and it's called 'Losing You'. I wrote it for school last year.*  
Also, I would like to add that the title of Mark's poem is actually true. :D  
  
[u][b][I]If Tomorrow Never Comes [/I][/b] - Part 16 [/u]  
  
[b][u]Next Day[/u][/b]  
  
~*~*Sydney's Classroom*~*~  
  
"So," Miss Winters - a.k.a Sydney - clapped her hands together and looked expectantly at her year 11 class (which, btw, I am in! ;) ) "Who wants to read out their poem," She looked around to see her class fidgeting, looking at the floor or hiding their papers. She sighed. Her class could be so difficult sometimes but they were so much fun to teach. "No one?" She questioned feigning surprise, "Well, in that case we'll just move onto Shakespeare…" Grumbles of annoyance filled the room as one lone hand rose above the rest. Sydney looked at the owner of the hand and smiled.   
  
"Tejal, are you volunteering?" Sydney asked. Tejal sighed and smiled. Sydney knew Tejal hated public speaking but she was the only one offering. Hopefully the class would listen. Tejal stood up and came to the front of the class as the class gradually settled down. The class had been asked to write a poem in rhyming couplet and there were many talented writers in the class…although the last poem writing assignment the class had come up with gay uncles being in love with their sister's boyfriend's dog and other weird and wonderful concoctions. Sydney hoped it wouldn't be the case this time.   
  
"Well, take your time - I'm sure it will be better than 'My Gay Uncle And His Dog Bride'" Sydney said shooting a look at Mark who sat in the back corner of the class. Sydney smiled and let Tejal get on with it.   
  
"Losing You," Tejal read out the title in a shaky yet clear voice. Sydney listened to the words as Tejal read them out.  
  
[*]  
A missing smile, a missing face.  
An empty chair, an empty place.  
Out initials carved in a tree,  
An eternal reminder of you and me.  
My hands are still damp from when I've cried.  
My memory stained since the day you died.   
The flowers I will lay by your grave  
Will be a memory of which I'll save.  
A half finished jigsaw gathering dust  
And our iron bond left to rust.  
The wedding dress hidden away  
Never to be worn on that summer's day.  
A broken mirror, a shattered glass  
Memories of days that have past.  
Pictures in frames scattered around the room  
With smiles that shamed even the moon.   
Your blood the colour of a deep red rose.  
That scent still lingers on your clothes.   
I am blinded, I cannot see  
Since my grief has taken over me.  
You broke your promise and left me here  
To pick up the pieces of what I held dear.  
Abandoned by friend's old and new.  
These are the effects of losing you.   
[/*]  
  
Sydney snapped out of her thoughts as Tejal waved her hand in front of her face. Sydney blinked away tears and the thoughts of Danny that clouded her mind. She hadn't thought of him for a while, yet she still kept her engagement ring in a box at home.   
  
"Are you ok, Miss?" Tejal asked. Sydney looked around at the class and realised that they were all looking at her with concern. Sydney nodded.  
  
"Um…yes, I'm fine. I just…it just brought back bad memories, that's all," Sydney, said without thinking. She moved back behind her desk and cleared her throat before speaking. "That was very good, Tejal, you can go back to your seat," Tejal complied and sat down. Sydney sighed heavily and smiled a little.  
  
"I'll be collecting your poems at the end of the lesson - those who haven't got them will have a detention tomorrow lunch," The class groaned again forgetting the recent events. "Right now, I want you to write [I]another[/I] poem," More moans "but this time in blank verse," Suddenly, Sydney's cell began to ring. The class groaned even more.  
  
"Miss, you aren't allowed to bring phones into class!" Various people moaned. The kids loved it when the teachers broke the school rules. Sydney told them to calm down and write their poem as she rummaged through her bag for her phone. The class were quiet in a hope to listen in to their teacher's conversation. It beat doing work and then they could spread any gossip - like with Miss Valentine and the phone call from her boyfriend.   
  
"Hello?" she answered eyeing her class. There was no one on the other end. "Hello?" she asked again. She was about to hang up when she heard someone sigh on the other end, "Hello?" she asked for the final time.  
  
"Joey's Pizza?" the voice quipped shocking her. In disbelief she slammed down the phone - moving it away from her as if it was a snake. The class mumbled in confusion. [I]It couldn't be, could it?[/I] she questioned as she excused herself and ran to Liz's class.   
  
Sydney peered through the window, hoping it was a joke. But she hadn't told anyone about the calls she received when she worked for the CIA. She knocked on Liz's door, who was busy marking some books. Liz motioned for her to come in as she noticed the stricken look on her friend's face.  
  
"Are you ok? I thought you had a cl-"  
  
"He called me," Sydney interrupted slipping into her American accent. Liz looked at her.   
  
"Are you sure?" Liz asked rubbing her arm. Sydney nodded.  
  
"Yeah, he said 'Joey's Pizza' like he used to," Tears formed in Sydney's eyes as she remembered Vaughn's calls. Liz looked at her as she thought.   
  
"Maybe someone was trying to get in touch with 'Joey's Pizza', I mean, we had dinner there last week," Sydney nodded. About a year ago, a Joey's Pizza food chain was set up around the world. Sydney thought it was a joke but they actually sold pizzas - very good pizza too. Then Sydney shook her head,   
  
"Why would they call my cell? My number is nothing like it!" she insisted. Liz agreed and then paused.   
  
"Look, Meg, maybe it was just a mistake. Plus, now isn't the time to discuss it, you have a class and I have to get these marks down before next period. Lunch is in an hour - we'll talk then," Liz proposed. Sydney nodded. It made sense, plus she had to get back to her class before they started hanging from the ceiling. Sydney sighed and smiled at her friend as she began to leave.  
  
"It's probably nothing!" Liz called after her and Sydney made her way back to her classroom.  
  
Sydney almost laughed to herself at how ridiculous she must have looked when she stormed out of her class. The school was full of mini-dramas. She herself had seen two girls go at it over a guy. They had been vicious and almost scratched each other's eyes out. Sydney had had to refrain from kicking both their butts.   
  
Sydney sighed as she paused outside her classroom and walked in expecting to see 27 pairs of eyes staring at her - instead - she saw a pair of green ones.   
  
[b]TBC…[/b] 


	17. Chapter 17

[b][u][I]If Tomorrow Never Comes[/b] - Part 17 [/u][/I]  
  
Sydney felt her heart stop beating and tried to comprehend the figure in front of her. For two whole years she had tried to imagine what she'd say to him if she'd ever see him again but when it happened she was utterly speechless.  
He seemed different. As if he was annoyed with her - although that wouldn't surprise Sydney as she was annoyed with herself for not being strong enough to stay. Sydney studied Vaughn. He was in his usual grey suit, his frown lines had multiplied and he'd never looked hotter.  
  
"Hello Sydney. Long time no see," Vaughn said. He seemed comfortable discussing it in front of her year 11s. "Or should I call you Megan Winters as that seems to be what you go by now," he said. Sydney tried to place the tone of his voice. It seemed to be more on the annoyed side than anything. Sydney crossed her arms. If anyone should be annoyed, it should be her. He's the one who's just blown her cover. But yet, words struggled to come out of her mouth.   
  
"Vaughn…" she stuttered, "What are you doing here," [I] 'like it's not already obvious!'[/I] Sydney thought to herself. She motioned to the class who were all watching intently.   
  
"I could ask you the same thing," Vaughn got up from her desk that he was sitting on. "You're the one who left!" he said dryly and resentfully.   
  
"That was two years ago," Sydney quietly countered. "Can we do this another time?" she requested, hoping Vaughn would get the message. She needed to think about this and she didn't feel comfortable discussing it in front of her class.   
  
"I've been looking for you for 2 years and I'm not leaving until I get some answers!" Vaughn said sternly.   
  
"I told you why I left!" Sydney threw back. "How…how did you find me anyway? I told you not to look for me," she said as she glanced around the class. Unfortunately, they were hanging onto every word.   
  
"You can't just leave a letter and expect me to understand everything!" Vaughn said, Sydney looked at the ground. Vaughn sighed. "Your father helped me find you," he added. Sydney looked up at him, the question trying to force its way out of her mouth.  
  
"How is he?" Sydney asked finally after a pause. Vaughn nodded.  
  
"The same. He misses you - we all do. Your father is the one who convinced Devlin to continue the CIA search for you," There were mumblings around the class at the mention of the most famous Intelligence agency. "We went all out to find you - and now we have," he said looking her up and down. Sydney met Vaughn's eyes for a minute staring at him longingly.   
  
"Syd…we need you back," he said. The look in her eyes changed from longing to disbelief.   
  
"Vaughn, no!" she said firmly knowing what was coming.   
  
"We have enough information to bring SD-6 down all we need is the right agent…"  
  
"No! Vaughn, I don't want to come back. I don't want to be a CIA agent anymore…" They argued for a whole two minutes while the class tried their very best to understand what was being said. It wasn't easy when they were talking over each other.   
  
"…I'm done!"  
  
"…Still CIA!" they finished off trying to get their breath back. Sydney took a deep breath and spoke first.  
  
"I don't know how to anymore," Sydney said disappointedly.   
  
"You don't forget 7 years of being a spy, Syd," Vaughn reminded her of how long she'd been in this world.   
  
"I'm not Sydney Bristow anymore. I've changed," she told him walking towards her desk and not making any eye contact. Vaughn clenched his fists together. She was right, she had changed. She wasn't the same Sydney Bristow he'd fell in love with…and whoa, where did [I]that[/I] come from? He shook the thought from his head - right know he had to be professional in getting her back. It was the emotional attachment that had made him lose her in the first place.  
  
"You can change your name, the colour of your hair and eyes but you cannot change your past! You'll always be Sydney Bristow. Nothing can change that!" His eyes screamed trying to convince her.   
  
"Vaughn. Since I joined SD-6 the only thing I wanted most was to have a normal life. I have that chance now - I can't throw it all away!" Sydney sighed in expiration. She didn't want to go back. Not now. "I'm safe here. SD-6 don't know I'm here, no one does,"  
  
"We found you," Vaughn stated. "It's only a matter of time before SD-6 find you,"  
  
"When it comes to that, I'll deal with it then," Vaughn was getting agitated with her nonchalant attitude.   
  
"Don't you miss it?" Vaughn asked. [I]Ok, Vaughn. Stupid question![/I] he told himself off.  
  
"Miss what? The lies or…or the constant state of jet lag? What about the fact I can't trust anyone? Or never knowing where I'm going or if I'm going to come back?" Sydney countered. There was a pause, "I don't miss it. I don't miss *anything*," she said firmly. Vaughn brought his eyes up to hers.   
  
"What about me? Don't you miss me?" Vaughn asked softly.   
  
  
  
  
  
[b]TBC…[/b]  
  
Hehehe, I'm evil! 


	18. Chapter 18

[b][u][I]If Tomorrow Never Comes[/b] - Part 18 [/u][/I]  
  
Sydney almost felt like laughing. 'Miss him?' The class were waiting patiently for her answer as well as Vaughn. Sydney decided to play him and the class. She couldn't say anything in front of her class and she felt that her relationship with Vaughn wasn't like it used to be.   
  
"I can't answer that, Vaughn," she said simply. She almost could hear his heart thud. Vaughn kept his face and tried not to show his disappointment. Instead, there was an awkward pause that almost killed both of them.   
  
"I know you hate being a spy and I know you've got your own life here, but you can't turn your back on your country," Vaughn began changing the subject.   
"I'm not turning my back on anything!" Sydney snapped. How dare he even suggest that. Ok, she *had* left it behind, but it didn't mean she didn't care. "I had to leave because I didn't want to hurt anybody else. I already killed Danny, Noah and Will," There were mutters around the class as their teacher admitted to killing several guys.   
  
"Noah was an assassin, if you didn't kill him, he would have killed you," Vaughn told her. He'd reassured her on this many times.   
"He was my ex-boyfriend for God's sake! I was sick of every guy I loved dying on me. I loved Danny so much but because of my big mouth, it got him killed! And then there was Will two years ago. It wasn't an accident, you know that," Sydney told Vaughn. Vaughn nodded.   
  
"Yeah, well, there's a lot of things that wasn't an accident," Vaughn said quietly. Seeing Sydney's questioning look, he elaborated. "One of our agents was captured by Amy about 8 months after you left. SD-6 wanted information on you, but she didn't know anything - so they killed her," Sydney looked at the ground, "And what's more, they passed her body off as yours, so as far as Francie and your friends are concerned, you're dead," Vaughn finished off, softly.   
  
Sydney gulped hard. There seemed to be no words to describe the way she was feeling. She realised she hadn't totally realised the full effects that her leaving would have done. Francie thought she was dead? Sydney wished she could go to her best friend and hug her. She didn't realised what SD-6 had done. Tears sprung into her eyes as she imagined Francie at home alone.  
  
"I-I-I…" she struggled for words as she looked at Vaughn's expectant face. Sydney sighed. This still wasn't going to bring her back. She refused to let herself get embroiled into that life again, "In that case, there is no point in me coming back, is there?" she said crossing her arms and firmly holding her answer.   
  
"You're just going to let Francie think you're dead?" Vaughn asked dumbfounded by Sydney's utter lack of concern.  
"If I can back, it would confuse her and I'd have to tell her the truth. I don't want her to get hurt as well!"  
"By not coming back, you're putting more people's lives in jeopardy," Vaughn argued back. As weird as it may have seemed, he was enjoying arguing with her. It had been a long time since he had. And truth be told, Sydney was enjoying it as well - not that she'd let on.   
  
The school bell rang as the class groaned and were forced to leave the room. Vaughn and Sydney were both relieved but they knew kids and gossip. After lunch, Sydney's affiliations would be the talk of the school and she would have a lot of explaining to do. But that was the least of their problems.   
  
As the last of the students filed past, Sydney sighed as she sat on her desk, putting her head in her hands to indicate how tired she was.  
  
"I don't want to get back into that life, Vaughn," Sydney looked at the floor, "Because I'm afraid that if I do, I won't ever get back out of it," Tears sprung into her eyes.   
  
Vaughn suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Here he was trying to convince her to come back for his benefit. He had completely forgotten everything she'd gone through. The lies, the hurt, the betrayals. All of that had plagued her all her life and he of all people should have known as he knew her best. But if she didn't come back, there was no chance of the cause of all her pain ever becoming non-existent.  
  
"I know you've been through a lot, Syd, believe me. But think about what you'd be giving up," Vaughn sighed before going on. He knew what he was about to say might anger her, but he had to give it a shot. "Don't you feel you owe it to Danny and Will and all those other agents inside SD-6 like Dixon and Marshall?" Vaughn hazarded another step closer to the desk. "Sydney, it's not just you who has been hurt and lied to. There are hundreds of innocents - Amy among them - who have been brainwashed to believe anything that comes out of Arvin Sloane's mouth," Vaughn took her hands and crouched down in front of her. Sydney looked down at him, somewhat mesmerized.  
  
"So please, come back," he pleaded one last time. Sydney looked up at him with tears brimming in her artificial grey eyes. She slipped her hands out of his and answered in barely a whisper.   
  
"I…can't," she said, "Please, don't ask me again. Just leave," she added curtly. Vaughn looked up at her, knowing he'd failed. Almost on automatic pilot, he stood up, brushed down his suit and stepped back. Sydney refused to watch as the love that she'd lost walked out of the door - and out of her life.   
  
[b]TBC[/b] 


	19. Chapter 19

[b][u][I] If Tomorrow Never Comes [/b] - Part 19 [/I][/u]  
  
Liz patted her cheeks to bring back the rosy colour as she stepped inside her house from the blistering cold outside. She shuddered as she took off her scarf and moved around the house, silently. Sydney had told her she was going home for reasons unknown to Liz, but she had heard rumours from pupils about Sydney and 'the man' in her classroom so Liz had figured out that it people had found out.   
  
Liz, obviously being the loyal friend, denied knowing anything about Sydney's affiliations and refused to answer and questions. Even the Head wasn't aware and Liz knew Sydney would tell them in due time. Liz wondered if Sydney was asleep in her room or had gone out. Her question was answered when she heard a bang come from the kitchen. Liz followed the noise, expecting to see her friend making cookies or even crying over some of the ice cream she'd bought a day previously.   
Instead she saw someone very different.  
  
"What are *you* doing here?" she asked in shock as the figure spun around to meet her gaze.  
  
"Beth…" the voice started. Liz shook her head, trying to dispel the voice she hadn't heard for close to 10 years. "Beth…what…" he was calling her by the nickname he used for her. He always used to call her Beth.   
  
"No! Go away! You're Sydney's…no!" Liz ran out of the kitchen and moved into the bathroom with the man following after her.  
  
Liz clicked the bathroom door shut and closed her eyes, tears spilling out of them. She hadn't wanted to see him. She'd wanted to forget everything to do with him. When she'd heard Sydney was a spy, all the memories came flooding back to her. She didn't want someone else in her life to have gone through that pain.   
  
"Beth…I-I…you're Sydney's friend?" The man asked through the door. He breathed heavily. Liz could tell he was as shocked as she was.  
  
"Michael, please…" she begged, "Don't, just go…" she sobbed. She knew he wouldn't leave, he wasn't like that. He'd stay around and make sure she was alright. Liz heard his body crawl down to the floor and rest against the door. He sighed.  
  
"You changed your last name," he said simply. Liz shook her head.  
  
"I didn't want to remember," She told him the truth. There was no point in hiding it when talking to him.  
  
"You've done the same as Sydney. Ran away from your past, never gave a second thought to the people you were hurting," Liz wiped her green eyes.  
  
"That was ten years ago, Michael. It was different," She tried to search for a reason of *how* it was different, but nothing came.  
  
"Dad wouldn't have like it, Beth. He would have wanted us to stick together," Vaughn told her.   
  
"Dad died. It broke up our family," Liz told him flatly. She heard her brother groan on the other side.  
  
"True, but you didn't have to break it up even more by deciding to move to Australia with Aunt June!" he almost snapped.   
  
"Aunt June offered to take care of me. She knew Mom didn't have enough money to look after the both of us and keep the house,"  
  
"I would have done it," Vaughn said quietly, "You know I would have looked after you,"  
"You were 8, I was 4! All you cared about were Matchbox cars and hockey. You never took care of me!" Liz snapped back. "You always ignored me. I was the kid sister that couldn't play hockey!" Liz didn't mean to sound too resentful.  
  
"That was before Dad died. Everything changed after that," Vaughn reminded her.  
  
"Yeah, it did. You wanted to be CIA just like Dad - guess you got your wish," Liz sniffed. There was silence from Vaughn's end. Liz hated that silence. "You wanted to be like dad. But you forgot that it was his job that got him killed,"   
  
'No, it was Sydney's mother that killed him' He thought bitterly before speaking,   
  
"Beth, don't start. I wanted to be CIA and I am CIA - although I never thought it'd be like this," Vaughn almost laughed at his situation. He never knew he'd handle a spy, let alone fall in love with her. He'd never in his lifetime imagined it would be her mother who killed his father. He'd always vowed to kill the person who did this and resent the family, but he didn't feel any kind of resentment towards Sydney about that issue.   
  
"Michael, I don't care what your connection with Sydney is, I just want you to leave," Liz told him forcibly.   
  
"Why? I'm your brother! I thought family mattered!" Vaughn demanded, "Just because I'm CIA doesn't change anything," Liz looked down at the floor. It meant everything to her. She'd lost her father to the CIA and she didn't want to lose her brother too. When Michael had told her one Christmas 10 years ago that he had joined, she'd lost it. She had promised never to speak to him ever again, although wouldn't explain why and had ruined Christmas for the whole family. Liz hadn't seen him since then or spoken to him. She had asked about him once or twice during conversations to her mother, but they usually lead to her mother crying down the phone. Liz had also changed her last name and moved. She didn't want to be notified if anything bad happened to Michael. She would rather keep up the illusion he was alive. She didn't want to know the truth.   
  
"Well," he said, "I'd better go," She heard him get up. "Can you give this to Sydney?" he pushed something under the door. A white envelope with Sydney written on it.   
  
"What is it?" Liz didn't really want to know, but she felt compelled to ask.   
  
"It's a plane ticket. Just in case she changes her mind about coming back," Vaughn told her. "Mom says 'hi'," he said finally before Liz heard him move away and the front door close.   
  
Finally alone, Liz sighed and picked up the envelope, throwing it into the bin without a second thought. 


	20. Chapter 20

[b][u][I]If Tomorrow Never Comes [/b] - Part 20 [/u][/I]  
  
~*~*Meanwhile*~*~  
Sydney walked the streets of London. People scurried about, doing their day to day business, with no knowledge of what decision Sydney had to make. Their biggest worry was what was on the menu tonight, or what top they were going to buy for that business party. No one else here had to decide on whether she was going to save America or stay at home and regret her decision.   
  
She took in a breath of the crisp winter air and trudged home. Liz should be home now and Sydney needed to talk to her about it. The last thing Sydney wanted to do was drag Liz into this life but she felt it was needed.   
  
Sydney unlocked the front door of her house and walked in. She didn't bother to remove the scarf, hat, or coat she was wearing, for fear that if she did, she'd lose the warmth and comfort that enveloped her. Liz was in the kitchen, Sydney could tell because she could smell Liz's famous pasta cooking. Sydney entered their kitchen, watching Liz dance away to a song on the radio while she cooked. As she did so, she felt an overwhelming sense of having seen this before - but couldn't quite place it. Liz caught Sydney's presence and stopped abruptly, turning off the music.   
  
"Hey," she said quietly. Sydney returned the greeting, "You okay?" Sydney shrugged as she sat on a chair. Liz quickly joined her friend after setting the pasta sauce on simmer. "You left in quite a hurry and without any explanation. There's been a lot of rumours going about," Liz informed her. Sydney looked up.   
  
"You didn't tell anybody about-" Sydney questioned.  
  
"No, you can trust me," Liz interrupted. Sydney nodded appreciatively. "Want to tell me what happened?" Sydney shook her head at first, but then mentally scolded herself for doing so, as she had promised herself she'd tell Liz. Sydney let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her forehead.   
"They want me back," she said simply.  
  
"Who, the CIA?" Liz feigned surprise as Sydney nodded, "What did you say?" she questioned.   
  
"I refused. I just…couldn't do it," Liz remained quiet, guilt seemed to takeover her tongue. "After I left your classroom after the 'Joey's Pizza' call, I went back and he was just standing there," Sydney continued. "He looked just like a remembered him. His hair was a little longer and there were a few more frown lines but…his eyes were still the deep green I've dreamt about," Sydney sighed contently then it dropped, "You should have heard him though. His voice. He sounded so mad at me," she sniffed, holding back more tears at the memory.   
  
"What did he say?" Liz prompted, trying her hardest to sound sincere and stop herself from giving away things she didn't want Sydney to know.   
  
"He said that they needed me and that I owed it to everybody I left back in LA , like Francie - who thinks I'm dead, by the way," Sydney added, frustrated at the lie that Sloane had fed her friend.   
  
"Oh no!" Liz exclaimed after Sydney filled her in on what Sloane had done. "I guess there isn't any point in you going back then, is there?" Liz asked, hoping she didn't sound too happy about it. Fortunately, Sydney nodded in agreement.   
  
"That's what I told him. But you should have seen the look on his face, Liz. He looked so heartbroken. Like all his hopes had been dashed and [b]I[/b] caused that," Sydney put her head in her hands. Liz stole a glance at her pasta and smiled slightly.   
  
"Here's an idea," she said, patting Sydney on the back as Sydney looked up, "How about I finish making dinner and you go and freshen up. I also know that there are two guys called Ben & Jerry who could do us both a lot of good," she offered. Sydney smiled at her friend's offer.   
  
"Sounds great," Sydney said as she got up and turned to leave. As she did, she glanced back over her shoulder, "You're a great friend, do you know that?" She smiled as she left, not knowing she was leaving Liz feeling like a traitor.   
  
~*~  
Sydney welcomed the feel of the refreshing water on her face. She relished in the cool feel of it against her skin and felt slightly better. She was almost certain that she wasn't going to be forced back to LA, but who knew how she'd feel later on.   
  
As she prepared to wipe her face, her eyes fell upon a white envelope bearing her name, which had been idly left in the wastepaper basket.  
  
Curiously, she picked it up, wondering who put it there, as she hadn't seen it before. She tore it open to find a plane ticket and a letter that had been written in a familiar hand.   
  
Sydney,  
I know you don't want anymore of this hassle, but please consider coming back. I'm sorry for the stunt I pulled today, I know you're probably mad at me but it was the only way to get you to listen.   
Please realise how much we...no [b]I[/b] need you back. We've worked for two years to get to where we are and I couldn't bear it if you weren't there when we took SD-6 down. You know we make a great team and I'm not the only one who misses you. Don't let Sloane get to you. He's only play tricks, you should know that better than anyone.  
I'll be waiting.  
Vaughn.  
  
Sydney wiped a tear from her eye, but the compassion from the letter was soon replaced by anger and confusion. How come she hadn't found it before? And if she had, why was it in the trashcan?   
  
"Hey, Syd. Dinner's ready!" Liz called, without realising she'd called Sydney by her real name and not her alias - Megan. Sydney opened the bathroom door and made her way to her friend. She needed answers, and there was only one person who had them.   
  
Liz set the two steaming bowls on the table making a mental note to take out the ice cream to let it thaw. She knew Sydney hated hard ice cream. She heard footsteps approaching and turned on a smile.   
"Voila!" she exclaimed as Sydney entered. Sydney looked at Liz, holding up the letter.   
  
"Do you know anything about this?" Sydney asked, hoping her friend had a good reason. Liz stared at the letter and shook her head.  
  
"No, nothing," Sydney looked at her dubiously. "I'm serious!" Liz insisted. Sydney nodded, believing her friend.   
  
"Oh ok. I found it in the trash can and I don't remember seeing it when I came in, that's all," Sydney said, sitting down on the table and re reading the letter.  
  
"Who's it from?"  
  
"Vaughn," Sydney breathed, "He was the guy that was in my classroom," Sydney explained. Liz almost told Sydney she knew, but remembered she wasn't supposed to know who he was. Liz sat next to her friend, curious to what the letter said. She knew there was a plane ticket in there as Vaughn had given it away when he dropped by earlier.  
  
"What does the letter say?" Liz asked. Sydney ran through it as Liz listened. "Are you going to go?" Liz asked again. Sydney shot her a look, "I mean, now you found this letter and everything," Liz clarified. Sydney shrugged.   
  
"I don't know. I mean, the letter's very persuasive,"   
  
"Yeah, Michael's like that," Liz muttered, not realising what she had just said. Sydney slowly turned her head to meet Liz's eyes as she took in what Liz had just said.   
  
"*What* did you just say?" Sydney asked incredulously. Liz froze as Sydney's eyes pierced into hers, demanding to know answers. "You called him Michael…" Sydney began.  
  
"No, I didn't," Liz got up and walked to the kitchen sink as to get away from the questions. Sydney quickly followed, not wanting to let this go.   
  
"Liz, do you know something? Did he…are you CIA?" Sydney asked suddenly, backing slowly away. "Were…were you sent here to spy on me?" Sydney said over Liz's denials.   
  
"No! Sydney! It wasn't like that!" Liz claimed.   
  
"You just called me by my real name, like you did before when you called me for dinner. You know Vaughn, don't you?" Liz gulped hard and then nodded.  
  
"He's my brother," Liz stated simply, "I haven't seen him for 10 years and I honestly didn't know about you and him," she said. "But, if you want, I'll tell you everything," Sydney blinked several times. How did her life get so complicated?  
  
"Alright," Sydney decided to give Liz the benefit of the doubt, "So, explain," she said, crossing her arms, as Liz began her story.   
TBC… 


	21. Chapter 21

There are about 3 flashbacks in this chapter.   
If Tomorrow Never Comes- Part 21  
  
[Flashback]  
Michael mumbled another play as he twitched. Liz, who was peeking through the door stifled a giggle as she heard it. Michael twitched again, this time with a little cheer as he scored another goal in his dream. Liz resisted the urge to tickle his toes, which stuck out the end of the bed.   
  
"Beth!" her father whispered as he saw his four year old daughter out of her bed. She turned around to look up at her towering father who was approaching. She turned on her innocent eyes.   
  
"Oui, papa?" she said in French, it was the best way to get on her father's best side.   
  
"What are you doing out of bed?" he questioned sleepily. Liz grinned.  
  
"Michael is talking in his sleep again," she said, "He's silly," she laughed, only to disturb her slumbering brother. She clapped her hands over her mouth to prevent more giggles from leaking out. Her father gave a crooked smile and lifted her up on his shoulders.   
  
"Let your brother sleep," Her father ushered her away from the room and he hoisted her on his broad shoulders. Liz held on, happy for the attention she was getting from her father,  
  
"Papa?" she questioned as they made their way to her room.   
  
"Yes?" her father replied, opening her bedroom door.  
  
"Can we go to Disneyland?" She asked as her father lowered her into her bed. He grinned.  
  
"Sure. When do you want to do?" He asked. She smiled innocently as she pretended to think.  
  
"Tomorrow!" she squealed before her father motioned for her to quieten down.  
  
"I'm sorry, I have a trip to go on tomorrow," but seeing Liz's face fall, he hastily added, "But when I come back, we'll all go together," he tucked her in.   
  
"Promise?" she said. She knew better than to make deals without a promise. Michael had taught her that.   
  
"Promise, my petit etoile," he kissed her forehead calling her by her pet name. She smiled as she watched her father shut the light and the door before she fell asleep.   
  
That was the last time she ever saw her father.   
[end flashback]  
"But after our dad died, everything changed. Michael changed. Mom changed. Everyone changed. From then on, Michael didn't want to be a hockey player. He wanted to be CIA. Just like Dad," Liz wiped a tear from her eye, "I may have only been four, but I still knew it was the CIA that killed my dad. So I hated the idea of Michael also being in the CIA. I didn't want him to die too,"  
  
"How did you get the Australian accent?" Sydney questioned. "Or are you just putting it on?"   
  
"No, it's real. I hated living with Michael. All he did was go on about the CIA and how he was going to be a hero like dad. I couldn't stand it. I told my Aunt, who decided it would be best if I went with her to Australia. I loved the idea, but my mom wasn't too sure. She eventually came around so when I was 7, I left for Australia. I always kept in touch with my mom and Michael but eventually, when Michael left for university, we lost touch,"   
  
"It was at my 21st birthday party, Michael flew with my mom to Australia to celebrate. I hadn't seen or spoken to Michael for years so I wasn't sure what was happening in his life. I knew he was back into hockey, because mom told me he played quite often. But from that day onwards we never spoke or saw each other again,"  
  
"Why?" Sydney asked.   
[flashback]  
The place was perfect. There were gold and blue balloons and streamers carefully positioned above them to hang from the ceiling where they created upside-down arcs, and white roses arranged in perfect bouquets on tables and other appropriate places around the room. Liz was dressed in the ridiculously expensive dress that she saved up for. She walked around with a glass of champagne in her hand, greeting all the guests. She was literally on cloud nine.   
  
"Beth!" A voice called as Liz spun around to great her mother. Placing the glass down, Liz broke into a wider grin as she hugged her mother.   
  
"Mom!" she sighed happily as tears formed in her green eyes. "I'm so happy to see you," she continued. The last time her mother had visited was a little over a year ago. Liz decided to get to the point, "Is he here?" she asked hopefully. She wanted bygones to be bygones and enjoy her party. Her mother nodded happily.  
  
"Yes, Michael is just parking the car. He's looking forward to seeing you again," her mother gushed. "He's got great news," her mother added. At that moment, Vaughn appeared, he spotted his mother and his sister and grinned.  
  
"Beth!" he said enveloping her into a hug, "You've grown so much," Liz closed her eyes, savouring the moment. She hadn't seen her brother for years.  
"You too," she was careful not to let any tears ruin her makeup, although it was proving difficult. Their mother cried her own tears at seeing her two children reunited.   
  
"I'll go get us all drinks," she said leaving them. Liz and Vaughn parted as Vaughn handed her a present.   
  
"I know you've got the present from mom and me already," Vaughn said as Liz nodded, "This is from dad. He had told mom that he wanted you to have it on your 21st," Vaughn handed the blue box to his sister, who unwrapped it carefully. "It was grandma's necklace," He told her as she nodded. She wiped more tears away.   
  
"Thank you," she smiled, hugging him again. There was an awkward pause between them, "So, mom tells me you have some news," She began. Vaughn nodded.  
  
"Yeah," Vaughn nodded.  
  
"So…tell," Liz grinned picking up her glass of champagne. Vaughn didn't look at her when he told her.  
  
"I've been recruited into the CIA," he said.   
  
The glass Liz held in her hands fell and hit the floor, shattering into a million pieces  
[end flashback]  
"Since then, Michael and I haven't spoken to each other. Well, until now. He was in the house when I came in. Left that for you," Liz pointed at the envelope   
Sydney had found. She sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose; just like her brother - Sydney noted. "I just…I want to see the person who killed my father burn. That's what tore our family apart," Liz added bitterly. Sydney flinched at Liz's words. Since Liz was coming clean, it was only fair Sydney did too.  
  
"Actually. Vaug- Michael knows who killed your father," Sydney began. Liz was all ears. "My mother killed him," Sydney awaited Liz's reaction. Liz just looked up at Sydney with wide green eyes glistening with tears.   
  
Liz couldn't quite comprehend the news. She'd lived with Sydney for the last two years. She could only barely accept Sydney's past with the CIA but this new revelation had her mind spiralling in all directions.   
  
"My mother had been told to kill 25 CIA agents. She worked for the KGB. I only found out when Vaughn did. I'm so sorry," Sydney apologised.  
  
"What did Michael say?" Liz asked, wondering how he could ever forgive the daughter of the woman who killed his father.   
  
"I don't remember. I think I was more in shock than anyone. I grew up thinking my mother was a teacher not a KGB agent………where are you going?" Sydney questioned as Liz got up and made her way to her room. Sydney promptly followed and pulled at Liz's arm. "Please listen to what I have to say,"   
  
Liz paused and stopped, giving in. She thought that she might as well hear Sydney out and then retreat into her room. She crossed her arms.   
  
"In less than four hours, my flight to LA leaves. I have to make a decision whether to go and help the CIA or not," Sydney sighed, "I don't want to make a decision without you involved. You're my best friend and I think you deserve to know what I'm doing," Sydney didn't want to leave things with Liz like she did with Francie.  
  
Liz finally relented sat back down, waiting for Sydney to explain her options. Liz couldn't let her father's death come before the welfare of a whole country. Sydney followed, grateful that Liz had given her a chance.  
  
"SD-6 is at the brink of destruction. According to Vaughn, they just need the right agent to bring them down. I've fought for this ever since my fiancé died. I want to see Arvin Sloane put behind bars or worse,"  
  
"So, what is the problem?" Liz countered, "You seem to have made up your mind,"  
  
"I don't want to be roped into that life again. When I left Mongolia, I promised to leave that life. Put it all behind me and never go back, no matter how badly I wanted to," Sydney looked at Liz. "I don't know whether to keep my promise, or do what I set out to do,"  
  
Liz looked down at the floor. "Megan…Sydney," She corrected, "You are a strong person. When I first met you, I knew there was something that you were keeping from me. You seemed to have gone through so much for a thirty year old and the need for adventure seemed to be in your blood. I remember asking my mother why dad died," Liz said, smiling slightly at the memory, then frowning.   
[flashback]  
Liz walked down the hall slowly, listening at the strange sniffles coming from her mother's bedroom. She peeked through the door as her mother knelt beside her bed, crying into the duvet. Liz watched the heartbreaking scene as she realised that her mother was by her father's side of the bed. At 5 years old, Liz knew the reason why her father wasn't coming home. Her mother had made it no secret. Liz approached her mother cautiously as she quietly knelt beside her mother. Her mother looked up from the duvet to see who had arrived.  
  
"Elizabeth?" she said, "What are you doing here?" her mother wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't want her daughter to see how distressed she was, although she knew it was in vain.   
  
"I wanted to see what you were doing. Were you crying?" she asked. Her mother gave off a weak smile and shook her head.  
  
"No, I wasn't crying," she lied. Liz frowned.   
  
"Then why do you look so sad? Is it because of dad?" she questioned. Her mother sighed heavily and took her daughter into her arms.   
  
"I'm not sad," her mother said, "I was just remembering all the happy memories. I was crying because they were beautiful memories that I'm happy to have,"   
  
"Why was dad taken away?" Liz asked. Her mother smiled slightly.   
  
"He had done what he came here to do. God was pleased with him and wanted your father with him,"  
  
"Doesn't dad have to look after us anymore?"   
  
"He is looking after us, Elizabeth. He's always looking after us. He's just with God now," her mother sniffed again, "His destiny is complete," she added softly.   
  
"Do I have a destiny?" her daughter asked.  
  
"Of course. You and Michael both have destinies. You are both going to achieve so much in your lives. And your father and I will *always* be proud of you," Her mother kissed her head and the two sat in silence.  
[end flashback]  
"What I'm trying to say is, you were…chosen to do this. You have to do this because you may be the only one who can." Liz finished. Sydney nodded in understanding. "And if you want," Liz began again, "I'll come with you. I'll help you," Sydney's eyes seemed to light up.  
  
"Liz, are you sure?" she asked. Liz nodded and held her friend's hand.   
  
"I won't let you do this alone,"  
  
"Thank you,"  
~*~*Next day  
CIA HQ - Vaughn's Office*~*~  
  
"Well?" Weiss impatiently inquired as he stood in front of Vaughn's desk. Vaughn glanced up from the coin he was playing with in his hands and looked at his friend blankly.  
  
"Well what?" he said. Weiss groaned. His friend could be so clueless sometimes.   
  
"Bristow! Is she back or what?" he asked, a little louder than anticipated. Vaughn stared at the coin as if he could burn a hold through it. He scrunched up his forehead, displaying most of his frown lines.   
  
"No," he said. Weiss stared at Vaughn in disbelief.   
  
"What?" Weiss said, hoping that he was hearing things. Vaughn sighed and got up, placing the coin on the desk.   
  
"She's not coming back, Eric, she refused," Vaughn elaborated firmly.  
  
"Why not? Did you tell her we need-" Weiss was interrupted by Vaughn's groan.  
  
"I told her everything! She doesn't want to come back, okay? She has a great life over there - she's safe. She teaches, she has a nice house, which she shares with my sister incidentally and she doesn't care about the CIA!" Vaughn almost yelled. Weiss paused to let his friend get his breath back.  
  
"Did you tell her you loved her?" Weiss offered. Vaughn glared.  
  
"What?" Vaughn asked coldly.   
  
"There's no use in denying it. You've thought about her every goddamn day for the past two years and even before that. Maybe if you-"  
  
"No, Eric! Just leave it!" Vaughn exploded. "Sydney's made up her mind. 3 little words won't change her mind because she's stubborn and pig-headed and-" Vaughn trailed off as he followed Weiss' gaze to the figure standing in the doorway.  
  
"You were saying…" Sydney said, smiling as she leant against the doorway. 


	22. Chapter 22

~*~*If Tomorrow Never Comes - Part 22*~*~  
  
"You were saying…" Sydney said, smiling as she leant against the doorway.   
  
Vaughn stared at her, his green eyes flickering ever so slightly as he checked her up and down to make sure she was really there. That it wasn't a dream.   
  
"Sydney," he stuttered, still not believing the sight in front of him.   
  
After their little disagreement the day before, he'd given up hope of ever seeing her again. He had being fully prepared to curse her, to be angry with her and determined to cut her out of his life. But here she was. All of her. *And* she was smiling. Vaughn couldn't help but also smile, as he though he would never see her at her happiest ever again.  
  
"Well?" the woman in question prompted. Even though she wanted to get straight down to business, Sydney just had to grin like a Cheshire cat as she'd managed to catch him out. "I'm stubborn and pig-headed and…?" she urged in good humour and curious to know how Vaughn would weasel himself out of this one.   
  
Weiss chuckled beside Vaughn and offered to help his buddy out. "Miss Bristow," Weiss stepped forward and shook her hand, "Nice to see you again," he smirked.  
She put her hands on her hips and pretended to be insulted.   
  
"'Nice to see you again'?, I've been away for two years and all I get is a 'nice to see you again'?" she frowned, "Give me some sugar!" she demanded in jest as he chuckled again and went to hug her.  
  
"Nice to see you again too, Weiss," she said as she hugged him tightly, "It's been a while,"   
  
"Yeah, it has," he said as he moved to whisper in her ear, "Don't you *ever* disappear on us like that again, okay?" Sydney nodded slowly and managed a weak smile. There was a short moment of silence as the three wondered on what to say.   
  
"You've lost weight," Sydney complemented to Weiss. He took a look at his former beer belly and smirked.  
  
"It's all Mikey's fault. He's been so busy worrying about you that he hasn't fed me properly," he joked, then decided it wasn't the best remark. "I like your hair," he complemented back. She nodded and thanked him.  
  
Truth be told, she was beginning to regret coming back. On her way here, she'd gotten some looks from the people in the office. Before she set off, she knew that people would talk about her. Sydney used to walk through the office with confidence and respect. Now, she was the agent who couldn't handle it. At least that is what she thought.   
  
It was hard. Devlin had seen her first and had welcomed her back. He hadn't mentioned Vaughn or Jack, just the expected 'We've missed you' business and a 'We hope that you can get back into the swing of things'.   
  
To be perfectly honest, Sydney thought he wasn't pleased to see her. He seemed a little cold and distant towards her, but that may have something to do with the bags under his eyes and the big piles of paper on his desk.   
  
Sydney hadn't had a chance to relax. She'd left Liz at the hotel and told her not to leave and to only order room service. She didn't want any risks, people still recognised Sydney, even with a new name and hairstyle.  
  
[Flashback]  
Sydney and Liz approached the customs desk. Sydney surveyed the place, which didn't seem to have changed much. The quality of the plane food was still rather foul, but that was probably because she wasn't flying business class.   
  
The woman at the desk greeted them with a chirpy, yet tired 'Hello' and proceeded to check their passports. She checked Liz's first and smiled. Sydney was astonished to see that she recognised the woman at the desk. The woman - Cheryl Ann - turned to Sydney and a flash of recognition crossed her blue eyes.   
  
"I haven't seen you here for a while," she grinned. "You seemed to come and go almost every week-" Cheryl Ann chattered as she checked Sydney's passport. She frowned as she looked from the name on the passport to Sydney. Her eyebrows knitted together and she sighed.  
  
"Is everything alright?" Sydney asked in a British accent. After all, it was a British passport. Cheryl Ann looked up.  
  
"What? Oh, sorry. I had you confused with somebody else. You can go," she said quickly as she handed them their passports, "Enjoy your stay,"   
  
Sydney and Liz thanked her and left quickly. Sydney breathed a sigh of relief. If a customs officer could recognise her, who else would?  
[end flashback]  
  
Sydney shook her thoughts out of her reverie and went back to Vaughn and Weiss. Weiss made an excuse of having to meet a guy named Josh for lunch and then left. Sydney and Vaughn both said bye before realising they were all alone.   
  
"So, when did you arrive?" Vaughn asked.   
  
"Early this morning,"   
  
"And Liz?"  
  
"She came too. We're at a hotel over at-"  
  
"I'll find out later," Sydney nodded as an awkward silence came across the room.   
  
"So, why did you-"  
  
"Vaughn, I don't want to answer any of those questions yet. I'm sorry, I'm just not…I'm tired. I haven't had much sleep," Sydney excused.   
  
"It's okay. I understand. Are you going to go straight back to the hotel? I could drive you….that is if you've hired a car,"  
  
"I came by cab so a lift would be great,"   
  
"Do you want to go now or…"  
  
"Actually," Sydney stopped him, "I'd like to see my father," she requested.   
  
~*~*Meanwhile, at the airport*~*~  
  
Cheryl Ann thanked her relief as she moved out of her chair and towards the payphones.   
She looked around as she picked up a handset and dialled a series of numbers. It rang twice before it was picked up.  
"It's me," she said quietly, "Tell Sloane that Bristow's back under the alias Megan Winters,"  
TBC… 


	23. Chapter 23

If Tomorrow Never Comes - Part 23   
  
Jack Bristow brought the whisky bottle up to his lips and after a moment's hesitation he took a gulp. He frowned at the half empty bottle in his hands and sighed. He didn't want to drink it. He'd been off alcohol for almost a year and a half, but had reunited with his old friend after learning he'd found his missing daughter.   
  
Jack took a final swig before closing the bottle and banishing it away in his liquor cupboard, vowing not to take it out again. Well, until after dinner anyway. He had been given the week off after Vaughn came back from London fruitless. Jack knew that if Vaughn couldn't bring Sydney back, no one could.   
  
Jack appreciated the break, but wanted to go into work, like Vaughn had. Devlin ordered the both of them to have a week off as he thought that neither one of them would be able to concentrate. He'd said the same thing after Sydney had first disappeared. Jack had refused, insisting that he needed work to get his mind off things. Devlin had threatened Jack if he didn't. Jack knew Vaughn had gone into work; Vaughn hadn't been at home when Jack tried to call about what happened with Sydney.   
  
Truth be told, Jack was worried about Vaughn. When Sydney left, Vaughn had never left work. He kept working, trying to find her, blaming himself. When he was ordered off work, Jack found him in his apartment, surrounded by liquor bottles and not giving a damn about anything. He even didn't care to feed his dog. Jack had put Vaughn on the right track again. The young agent reminded Jack of himself when his wife had 'died'.  
  
Since then, the two had become close. Vaughn was almost like the son Jack never had. Jack had never been Vaughn's biggest fan, but after seeing how dedicated he was to find Sydney, Jack had gained new respect for him. At first, Jack had been angry with Vaughn after Sydney's disappearance, but realised that Jack hadn't exactly been there for Sydney throughout her childhood. That was one of many things Jack had come to regret.   
  
The sound of the doorbell shook Jack out of his thoughts and he groaned, prising himself out of his armchair and moving towards the door. He hoped it wasn't one of those useless salesmen again; Jack had almost throttled the last one.   
  
As he pulled open the door, he was stunned to see Vaughn with a young woman, who bore a striking resemblance to…  
  
"Sydney?" Jack asked in disbelief as his daughter offered a small smile and stepping in to hug her father.   
  
"Hi, Daddy," she said hugging him tightly. "How have you been?"  
  
"Fine, uh…come inside," Jack moved aside, allowing the two to enter. Sydney surveyed the place, realising she'd never been in her father's house before. She noticed the place smelt like whisky. She glanced at her father who was busy making drinks for them. Sydney then turned to Vaughn, who'd noticed the same. Vaughn gave her hand a slight squeeze, which brought Sydney's attention to the fact they'd been holding hands. She hadn't noticed before, but was pleased he was there.   
  
"I wasn't too sure if you liked Coke or not," Jack said returning with a tray full of drinks. "So I brought a selection,"   
  
"It's alright," Sydney reassured, trying to make this as easy as possible. She reached for a Coke. Jack looked up at Vaughn.  
  
"I got you your usual," he said, handing a bottle to Vaughn. The young man shook his head politely.  
  
"No, actually, I think I'd better get back to work. I have some things to arrange," Vaughn excused himself. Vaughn knew that he should give the Bristow's some time to talk and knew both would appreciate the time given, seeing as they hadn't had the closest relationship before Sydney had left. As predicted, the two nodded and smiled. "Syd, when you want to be taken back to the ops centre or your hotel, you can just give me a call. I'm still at the same number," Vaughn told her.   
  
"Thanks, but I can get a cab," she offered.   
  
"NO!" The two said at the same time. Sydney raised an eyebrow before Jack explained, "It's too risky allowing you to get into a cab. Anything could happen. We want to keep you as safe and secret as possible. If Sloane knew you were here…"  
  
"I can take care of myself. Ass kicking spy, remember?" Sydney joked. Jack and Vaughn looked at each other.   
  
"Call me," Vaughn said finally, "Please?" Sydney just nodded as Vaughn let himself out.   
  
"Thanks," Sydney called as her handler disappeared, leaving her alone with her father. There was a small silence as both tried to think of a suitable conversation starter. 'I seem to be getting that a lot', Sydney thought to herself as she looked around.   
  
"Uh…I like your hair," Jack said finally, "It's…nice," Sydney self-conciously moved her finger's through her hair as she shyly thanked him 'Nice' is just another way of saying you hate it' Sydney chastised, before realising it was Jack she was talking to. Not exactly Mr-Socialises-A-Lot. (yeah, sorry, I've been watching too much 'Angel'. I keep using Cordyisms…now I'm babbling).  
  
"It reminds me of when you were five. You had beautiful long hair but the boy next door kept pulling it and teasing you. You cried for hours, before you found a pair of scissors and chopped a whole bunch of it off. I thought it was cute. Luckily, I found you before you did too much damage and took you to the hairdressers. Your moth-" Jack stopped when he realised where this conversation was going. Sydney moved her fingers from her hair and the atmosphere became tense.  
  
"I thought you hadn't come. Michael called and said you had refused to come back. I thought that was it," Jack said somberly.   
  
"I came to my senses. I want SD-6 gone. They have to pay for what they did to Will, Danny and Amy. Not to mention they lied to me and about 100 other employees. I can't let SD-6 continue to exploit innocent people," Sydney said firmly.   
  
"Sydney, I'm not going to sit here and demand to know why you left…"   
  
"Thank you," Sydney interrupted, "But…?" She prompted.  
  
"But, there *will* be questions. And I want to make sure you are prepared to answer them. You can't avoid them. Not in the way you left," Jack said, his voice full of hurt. Sydney looked up at her father.   
  
"I know, Dad. On the way here, Vaughn suggested that I see Barnett," Jack met Sydney's eyes, hoping his daughter wouldn't refuse.   
  
"And?"  
  
"And…I agree. There are issues that need to be resolved and I think talking to Barnett would do me some good,"  
  
"I'm glad. I know it isn't easy to pour your heart out to someone who analyses everything you say, but Dr Barnett is one of the best psychiatrists in America," Jack told her.   
  
"Since when have you been on her side?" Sydney chuckled. "I thought you didn't like her," She narrowed her eyes, curious to know why her father had had a change of heart.   
  
"I didn't…until I saw how she helped Vaughn," Sydney's eyes widened.   
  
"What?" she cried, "Vaughn went to see Barnett? Why?"   
  
"I think you know why," Sydney glanced down at her drink, sheepishly. "He was in bad shape, Sydney" Jack continued, not to make his daughter feel bad, but to make sure she knew the full consequences of her actions. "Losing you was one of the worst things that could have happened to him. He needed help,"  
  
"How bad was he?" Sydney asked quietly. Jack shrugged in reply, trying to think of the best way of putting it.   
  
"Almost as bad as I was when your mother left. He blamed himself-"  
  
"It wasn't because of him,"  
  
"I know, Sydney. But he didn't know that. He worked to hard and ended up turning to drink. He was a mess when I found him. Since then, we've concentrated on finding you," Sydney chewed on her lip nervously. Jack cleared his throat and decided to change the subject. It was making her uncomfortable and this was something she and Vaughn needed to sort out for themselves.   
  
"Anyway, I doubt the transition was easy for you. How have you been?"   
  
"Okay, I guess. I went straight to London, got a job as a teacher,"  
  
"You're a teacher?" Jack asked surprised. Sydney nodded.   
  
"Yeah, I thought you knew," Jack shook his head.   
  
"All I got was your alias and address. No other information. I was at SD-6 when they found you," Jack explained.   
  
"Oh, well. I teach English to students aged between 11 and 18. They're great, I love teaching them. Although there's the odd smart-ass who thinks they are 'hard' if they don't let teacher teach," Sydney said a bit bitterly. "Liz and I have a word for them-"  
  
"Liz?" Jack butted in.   
  
"Oh, she's my roommate. She's a teacher too," there was a pause, before Sydney added, "Actually, she's Vaughn's sister - believe it or not,"  
  
"Excuse me?" Jack cried, "Vaughn has a sister?"  
  
"Apparently. I didn't know until he showed up and everything came out. It's a long story, I'm not even totally clear on the details, neither has said much about it. Just a family rift or something," Sydney rubbed the top of her head as she explained.   
  
"Where is she now? Still in England?" Jack asked.  
  
"No, she came with me. She's still at the hotel,"  
  
~*~*The Hotel*~*~  
Liz flicked off the TV and sighed in utter boredom. 300 channels and nothing interesting was on.   
"I hate America," she groaned, "Nothing but re-runs and cartoons. What happened to all those trashy soap operas?" she asked no one in particular.  
  
Sydney had left at ten that morning and Liz was alone. Sydney had ordered her to stay in the hotel, and only eat the food they'd bought at the airport. Something to do with people poisoning the food. She was also told not to let room service in. Liz thought about having a shower and using up the hotel's shampoo and shower gel bottles, but she'd already done that. She looked out of the window, watching the bustle of cars and people going about their daily chores. It was a bright day and the temperature looked just right. It was very different from London where snow had fallen in the middle of March. Liz longed to be out there enjoying herself.  
  
Liz finally got fed up. She was used to doing things her own way and not following orders. She decided that it was just too boring to stay inside, regardless of all the dangers Sydney had listed. It was ridiculous, no one but the CIA knew they were there. And besides, who could identify her?   
  
Liz looked at the time; it was a little past noon. If she hurried, she could grab some lunch and spend sometime at the beach before Sydney got back.  
  
Liz grabbed some money, her jacket and a camera and left the room. As she walked down the corridor, she smiled at the cleaner, who bore a slight resemblance to the woman at the airport.   
  
The woman smiled back and as soon as Liz was out of site; she made her way to Room 347.   
  
~*~*30 minutes later*~*~  
Vaughn approached the man at the front desk of the hotel. He'd intended to go to work, but Weiss had called and let him know that he knew where Sydney and Liz were staying and that the CIA were currently trying to secure the vicinity and get a nearby safehouse ready. Vaughn took the chance to talk to Liz. He knew that his mother would like to see them on speaking terms but Christmas at least. He couldn't remember the last time all of them had a meal together - without an argument taking place.   
  
"Yes sir, how may I help you?" the man asked. Vaughn looked at the blue tie pin that he'd been told to look for.   
  
"My name is Alex Castle and I'm looking for a Megan Winters. I was told she was staying here," he replied with the code name he'd been told to say. The man nodded accepting the code and looked up the name in the hotel database.   
  
"Miss Winter is staying in Room 347. Would you like me to call and let her know you are coming?"   
  
"No, it's fine. She's expecting me," Vaughn said, continuing the coded conversation. The man nodded and Vaughn headed to the elevators.   
  
When he reached the third floor, he took the various twists and turns down the corridor and found their room. He took a deep breath as he gathered the confidence and knocked on the door. To his surprise, it was already open.  
  
Vaughn entered, "Beth?" he asked as he looked around the room for her. He saw that the bathroom door was shut and assumed she was in the shower. He grinned 'Trust Beth to be in the shower at 12.45,' he thought. He knocked on the bathroom door, but got no reply. He thought that maybe she couldn't hear because of the water running, but realised there was no water running. He opened the bathroom door, and found that completely empty.  
  
"Beth?" he asked again, before pulling out his phone and calling Jack's cell.  
  
"Jack speaking,"   
  
"Jack, can you put Sydney on the phone?"   
  
"Sure, hold on…" there was a muffled conversation before Sydney spoke through the mouthpiece. "Hello?"  
  
"Syd, did Beth tell you she was going out?"   
  
"No, I told her to stay in. Why? Is she at the Ops Centre with you?" Sydney asked  
  
"No. I'm not there. I doubt she knows where that is anyway. I'm at you're hotel and I can't see her,"  
  
"Are you sure it's the right room?"  
  
"Room 347, right?" Sydney confirmed, "Well, the door was ajar and I can't find her. The room is tidy, though," Vaughn acknowledged.   
  
"You don't think someone took her?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe she went for a walk,"  
  
"I told her not to…wait, did you say the room was cleaned?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"I told her not to let them in,"  
"Well, the maid must have come while she was in the shower or…" Vaughn stopped.   
  
"Or…? Vaughn?" Sydney prompted.  
  
"A few months back, we followed a job SD-6 did in Brazil. They took the occupant, cleaned and bugged the room,"  
  
"And you're thinking they did the same here?"  
  
"I don't know. It's possible,"  
  
"Why would they use the same method?"  
  
"Not sure. Maybe they wanted information…" Vaughn trailed off as realisation dawned on him. They had taken Liz and bugged the room. This way, they could be sure that it was Sydney in the room and get as much information about the CIA's plans without them knowing.   
  
By Vaughn phoning Sydney in the hotel room, SD-6 knew Sydney was in LA and where she was at this moment in time, seeing as he'd called Jack's cell. He left the room, shutting the door and speaking in the corridor instead.   
  
"Vaughn? Are you there?" Sydney's voice asked.   
  
"Yeah. Listen, Syd. I need you to follow my instructions carefully,"  
  
"Uh…okay,"  
  
"You and Jack need to get out of there. Go straight to the Ops Centre and stay there. I think SD-6 knows where you are,"  
  
"What about you?" Sydney asked.  
  
"I'll meet you there," Vaughn told her, she sighed in relief. "Syd, be careful," he added.   
  
"I will. Thanks," she said as Vaughn disconnected and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He put his phone in his pocket, spun around and came face to face with the maid.   
  
~*~*Jack's House*~*~  
"Dad, we have to go," Sydney said giving her father his phone back. Jack took a sip of his drink and looked at his daughter.   
  
"Why? What did Vaughn say?" he asked, grabbing their coats and his car keys, as Sydney hurried them out of the house.   
  
"SD-6 bugged my hotel room. They know I'm here," Jack opened the front door and led his daughter to his car, "We have to go to the Ops Centre," she told him, as they climbed into his car. Jack started the engine and they drove away, just in time to see Jack's house burst into flames.   
  
"That was close," Sydney gasped as she witnessed the fire engulf the building.   
  
"You get used to it," jack said all too calmly, "You used to see this sort of thing all the time,"  
  
"I'm out of practice," she grinned, "I forgot how it felt to have to run for my life," There was a pause.  
  
"Now that SD-6 know you're here, it's going to make things much harder," Jack looked at Sydney, It's going to be hard. We want to re-train you and go over the operation specs. It'll be frustrating, but we'll get there. The question is…are you ready?" The woman he barely recognised sighed. Her eyes glazed over in the familiar defiant look as she replied with a smile,  
  
"Yeah…I'm ready,"  
~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Thank you SO much for the great reviews. I really appreciate it and I'm sorry I don't update frequently. School's been my number one priority at the moment, but I'm only there until the 17th of June so I can write more after then. But right now, the pressure is building and I don't really have time to write much.  
  
I love it when I know people are reading this fic, so please review and tell me what you think. Good or bad (preferably good...but I don't mind constructive critism. If you look at my very first fics, they're terrible).   
  
And if you want to be extra nice, vote for this fic at . It has been nominated for Best Future Fic (and whoever nominated me, thank you. It was a nice surprise). Voting begins April 9th, but only vote for me if you think I deserve it. The last thing I want to do is deprive someone of the award. I know I'll be voting for a few fics I think deserve to win in other categories.   
  
Many thanks  
  
Mrs O xXx 


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: I'm not too pleased with how this came out, but I wanted to get it up ASAP  
  
~*~*~*If Tomorrow Never Comes - Part 24*~*~*~  
Liz surveyed the restaurant that she'd chosen to eat in. She'd asked the taxi driver his opinion on restaurants and he'd recommended this one. The food was great and the service was supposed to be impeccable. Not to mention value for money. It had won a bunch of awards in its three years and all the critics were raving about it. Seemed like the perfect choice.   
  
And it was. The red of the walls were soothing and relaxing. It wasn't the bright red that gave you a headache, but a darker shade, which felt warm and inviting. The place wasn't packed, which was strange seeing as it was lunch, but Liz remembered the hoards of people eating out on the verandas under the big umbrellas. Liz suspected it got busier at dinner as it seemed like that type of restaurant.   
  
"Hi, can I help you?" a young black woman asked as she came up to Liz's table. Liz realised she had the menu in her hands. The black woman cocked her head a little as Liz tried to think of something to say.   
  
"Uhm…I'll have the…" Liz studied the menu before looking up at the waitress and grinning sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I have no idea what to order. What's the chef's special?"   
  
"That would be the catfish," Liz scrunched up her face. "Not a big fan of fish, huh?" the waitress asked with a smile. Liz shook her head.   
  
"Do you do any sandwiches?" Liz asked looking over the menu again.   
  
"It's on the other side of the menu," The waitress turned it over and pointed to the section where it was located.   
  
"Thanks," Liz took a minute to go through the choices before setting it down and ordering. "I think I'll go for the toasted ham and cheese," The woman wrote it down. "But with pickles,"  
  
"Pickles,"  
  
"And no ham…"  
  
"No ham,"  
  
"Don't toast it either,"  
  
"Untoasted. Is that all?" the woman asked. Liz thought for a second.   
  
"And a coffee please," she said finally. The waitress wrote it down.   
  
"So basically you want a cheese and pickle sandwich and a regular coffee?" Liz nodded.   
  
"Sorry. I'm not good with making decisions," Liz excused.   
  
"It's okay. You a tourist?" she asked. Liz nodded.  
  
"You can tell?"  
  
"Only a tourist would order a regular coffee. We have a million kinds here. Are you Australian or British? I can't quite place the accent,"   
  
"I'm from Australia but I've been living in London the past eight or so years," she explained.   
  
"What brings you to LA?"   
  
"Business. Well, my friend's business. I'm just here for support," The waitress nodded. "I'm Elizabeth, by the way," she said, holding out her hand  
  
"I'm Francie," she introduced. "I own the restaurant,"   
  
"Why are you waitressing?"  
  
"I like to do everything. Sometimes I man the bar, or cook and sometimes I waitress," Francie paused for a moment, "Listen, seeing as you're new here. How about you try a different type of coffee? Get a bit of variation in you?" Francie offered.   
  
"I wouldn't know what to choose,"  
  
"Here are our drinks. Chose one," Liz looked over the drink menu. There were a lot, but one caught her eye.  
  
"A 'Sydney's Choice'? What's that?" Liz asked.   
  
"Oh, it was named after my best friend. She loved the drink," Francie explained with a sad note. "She passed away two years ago. Her picture's up on that wall," Francie pointed to a wall with three pictures mounted on the top. One of a man with messy blonde hair, one of an elderly man and one of a younger, happier Sydney with long chestnut hair and a big grin on her face. Liz almost felt like crying.   
  
"Who are the others?" Liz asked.   
  
"The old man was a regular customer of mine. He died a few months back. The other guy is Will. He was other best friend. He passed away a few days before Sydney. I miss them a lot," Francie said softly, tears forming.   
  
"I'm sorry," Liz said, feeling guilty. This was Sydney's best friend, who was under the impression that she was dead, while Liz was living with her.   
  
"It's not your fault. Will died in a car accident and Syd…well; I don't know all the details. I don't *want* to know all the details. All I know is she was only recognisable from her dental records," Francie sighed. "Oh your sandwich. I'm sorry, I forgot. You don't want to listen to me drone on. It'll be with you in ten minutes," She said, wiping a few stray tears as she left.   
  
Suddenly the sandwich didn't seem so appetising anymore. Liz glanced at the photos on the wall. Sydney looked happy, yet there was something in her eyes that told Liz she hadn't been completely happy. Sydney had never had any pictures of Will, Francie or her father. But on the way here, Sydney had shown Liz the picture of Vaughn she'd kept. Liz decided to ask Sydney about that later - when she got back to the hotel.   
~*~*Ops Centre*~*~  
  
A slight limp and a few bruises later, Vaughn strode into the Ops Centre. He ignored all the looks he got from other agents and walked up to Weiss, who was busy playing Tetris on his computer.  
  
"Weiss!" Vaughn shouted. Weiss quickly exited the game and held his hands up in an 'I-wasn't-doing-anything' type gesture.   
  
"Oh, it's only you," Weiss grumbled, "Y'know, I could have got a top score on that,"  
  
"You can't even get past the first stage," Vaughn shot back before getting back to business, "Did Jack and Sydney come here?" he asked, Weiss nodded.  
  
"10 minutes ago, they're waiting in your office," He told his friend, "Hey, what happened to you-" But Vaughn was already racing up the stairs to his office. Sydney and Jack both stood up respectfully when Vaughn entered the office.   
  
"Are you both okay?" he asked looking both of them over for any injuries. He was taken aback when Sydney hugged him tightly.   
  
"The building blew up just as we drove off. Thanks for the heads up," she said. Vaughn tried to smile, but the bruise near his face made it difficult and painful. Sydney cocked her head to the side. "What happened to your face?" she asked, motioning to the bruise.  
  
"I ran into an SD-6 agent. Probably the one who bugged the room. I managed to knock her out and left her with the CIA agents we have at the hotel. They're trying to get as much information as possible and are de-bugging the room," he explained, moving away from Sydney as she tried to touch his bruise. "It's too dangerous to go back there. We're looking for Liz. We're not sure if she was taken. The SD-6 agent says she saw Liz leave the room of her own accord," Vaughn looked at Sydney who sighed heavily.   
  
"What's the plan? Sydney, Liz and I are homeless," Jack sat down in a seat. Vaughn nodded thoughtfully and sat down in his chair. Sydney followed suit.   
  
"Well, I guess you can stay at my apartment. I can make up the guest bedroom and you have a few suitcases there," Vaughn suggested, "As for Sydney and Be- Liz," Vaughn corrected, "I've made a call to put them into a safehouse a few miles from here. SD-6 are more likely to go after them, rather than you, Jack,"   
"Wait, how come my dad can stay at your apartment and Liz and I have to stay in a house with people watching us?" Sydney exclaimed. She wasn't happy. She hated safehouses. They were creepy. There were cameras, and bugs and two-way mirrors.   
  
"We need both of you in a close vicinity and we only have one safehouse currently available in LA," Vaughn explained. Jack excused himself, knowing it could get ugly.   
  
"I don't want to stay in a safehouse!"  
  
"Where else do you suggest? My apartment? Cos the last time we ever shared a place, things didn't go so well," Vaughn bit out, knowing he'd regret it later. Sydney chose to ignore the comment, but gave him a venomous stare.   
  
"How about another hotel?"  
  
"SD-6 could find you. They may know your aliases,"   
  
"Change the alias and put us in another hotel with CIA security,"  
  
"We did that last time and they still got to you,"   
  
"I don't care! Make me live in a shoebox. I'm not going to stay in a safehouse!" Sydney crossed her arms and pouted. Vaughn grinned as best he could. "What?" she asked when she saw the crooked smile. He shook his head and tried to hide his smile, "No, seriously, what?" still no reply. "Are you going to tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?" she threatened. Vaughn smiled again.   
  
"It's just…you look cute…doing the pout…and then with the threat. You look adorable,"   
  
"It's not *supposed* to be adorable," she muttered before breaking into a smile herself.   
  
"Listen. I'll see what I can do. But for now, you'll have to stay in the safehouse. And I promise we'll try and make sure we disable the cameras inside to give you more privacy," he offered.   
  
"Mike! Sydney!" and out-of-breath Weiss cried as he entered Vaughn's office, "I think we got a lead on Liz. Someone spotted her in Francie's restaurant half an hour ago," Sydney shuffled uncomfortably and managed an 'oh'.  
  
"We need to get her here. Francie thinks Sydney's dead so that rules you out and Liz won't appreciate me there," Vaughn said. Sydney nodded and the two looked at Weiss.  
  
"Who, me?" Weiss pointed to himself, "Nope. No way. The last thing I want to do is meet your sister again,"   
  
"Again? Weiss met your sister before, yet you didn't mention it to me," Sydney grumbled.   
"Weiss is my friend," off Sydney's unimpressed look, he added, "He's been my friend longer. He came to Liz's 21st with me,"  
  
"Liz told me about that. What happened between you and her anyway," she told Vaughn.   
  
"Well, Eric here didn't know she was my sister and tried chatting her up and she…"  
  
"Punched him in the nose," Sydney finished off. "Liz told me about that". Sydney grinned.   
  
"Oh great. She remembers me. If she hits me again, I'm never speaking to you again,"   
  
"Does that mean you'll do it?" Vaughn asked hopefully. Weiss sighed, realising he'd let himself in for it. He nodded.   
  
"But I'm warning you if she hits me…don't ever think I'll feed your dog for you again," he groaned, rubbing his nose as he remembered Liz's powerful left hook.   
~*~*Francie's Restaurant*~*~  
  
Liz finished off her sandwich and sighed contently. At that moment, Francie came over to collect her plate.   
  
"Finished?" she asked. Liz nodded, chewing the remnants of the sandwich, "How was it?" Francie asked. Liz grinned.   
  
"Best sandwich I've ever had," Francie grinned back. "And I think the awards on the wall will agree with me," Liz added.   
  
"I like to know people enjoy the food. Do you want another?" Francie asked. Liz shook her head firmly.   
  
"I don't think I could eat another bite, but I'm definitely coming here tomorrow,"  
  
"Come tonight. Bring your friend along," Francie suggested. Liz gulped.  
  
"I'm not sure. My friend…well, she didn't want me to leave the hotel," Francie's eyebrows went up.  
  
"Wow, sounds strict," Liz shrugged.  
  
"Not really. The business she does…it's dangerous," Liz said, before realising she may have said too much. Fortunately, someone called Francie, before she could reply. Francie waved them over.   
  
"Liz, this is my friend," Liz held out her hand to the red head woman. "And this is Liz, a new customer," Francie introduced.  
  
"Amy Tippin," the woman said, sliding into the seat next to Francie.   
  
"Amy is Will's sister. She's been great since he and Sydney died," Liz looked at Amy, there was something about her that gave Liz the impression she was far from great. Amy just smiled sweetly. The three began to chat. Francie had to take a few more orders and left Amy and Liz. Liz noticed Amy asked a lot of questions.   
  
Too many.   
  
"So, what does your friend do for a living?" Amy asked. Liz stumbled for words and Amy tapped impatiently for the answer. Then Amy's cell rang, Liz breathed a sigh of relief as Amy excused herself and went towards the bathroom.   
  
"Uh, excuse me," Liz turned to see a slightly plump man in a suit standing behind her. "Are you Elizabeth?"  
  
"Yes, and you are…?"   
  
"I need you to come with me," Liz resisted, knowing he was avoiding the question.  
  
"I don't think so," she said, trying to get Amy's attention. The man groaned as he realised what Liz was doing.  
  
"Don't do that. That woman is dangerous. I need to get you out of here," Liz stopped waving to Amy but refused to come. "My name is Eric Weiss. I'm CIA," he said in a whisper only Liz could hear.   
  
"Prove it," Liz said, looking at him in the eye.   
  
"You have a brother called Michael Vaughn, you know Sydney Bristow and you punched me in the nose at your 21st birthday party," Weiss threw some bills on the table to pay for her meal.  
  
"I knew I'd seen you somewhere-"   
  
"Let's go," Weiss said, pulling her away. Amy had ended her call and had seen them and was making her way over, a furious look on her face. Liz followed Weiss, who led her by the arm to his car, in a nearby alley.   
  
"Where are we going?" she asked as she climbed into the black car.  
  
"The CIA. Mike and Sydney are waiting there," he explained as he belted up and started the engine. "Sorry for the way I dragged you away like that. Amy isn't one of the nicest people," Weiss apologised.   
  
"She seemed nice enough," Liz said, "A little inquisitive, but who isn't?" Weiss looked at her.  
  
"Well, seeing as she's killed about 5 of our agents, helped to kill her own brother and tried to kill Sydney, I think it's safe to say she's not going to be on my Christmas card list this year," Liz grinned at his wry humour.   
  
"What happened between Sydney and Michael?" Liz asked after a minute of so. Weiss shrugged.  
  
"I don't know. Mike hasn't said anything. They used to get on well, but a couple of years ago they were in a safehouse in Mongolia or something. When Mike woke up, she was gone. I don't know what happened. I guess learning that Amy was working for SD-6 shook Sydney up," Weiss glanced at Liz, "You know what SD-6 is, right?" Liz nodded.  
  
"Sydney explained it to me on the way here. Didn't tell me why she'd left, though," she sighed and the two fell into a comfortable silence for about five minutes. Weiss looked at her when they came to the traffic lights. She was staring at him, intently.   
  
"What?" he asked. She shrugged and went back to looking at the road, "No, seriously, what?"   
  
"Nothing. I was just wondering if I had broken your nose when I punched you that time. It looks a little bumpy if you don't mind me saying,"  
  
"Well, I do mind and you didn't break my nose. You just bruised it…a lot," Weiss said bitterly.   
  
"I could never throw a punch. I hear Sydney must have some moves though, being a spy and everything,"  
  
"Oh yeah. She could kick our asses any day. Once, she took out three burly guards bare-handed," Liz smiled at the mental image. She glanced out of the window, just as they drove past her hotel.   
  
"Hey, look, there's my hotel. Can I go and pick some stuff up?" She asked. Weiss shook his head. "Sorry. When you left the room, a 'maid' bugged it. SD-6 heard where Sydney was and so we had to de-bug the room and move you both to a safer house. But you'll get all you're stuff once it's checked," he reassured  
  
"They check my stuff?" Liz said in disbelief. "Like, go through all my personal items like my diary and underwear?" she exclaimed. Weiss went a bit red at the last part but tried not to show it.   
  
"They're not going to read your diary. Just check for any tracking devices and bugs. We have to be careful,"   
  
"I should never have left the hotel. I should have listened to Sydney. I've ruined everything!"   
  
"Hey, don't sweat it. It's actually a good thing you left. If you'd been in there when the maid came, God knows what would have happened. In a way, you did the right thing," Weiss rubbed her arm as he parked the car. "We're here," he said as they both got out.  
  
"Mr Bristow!" Weiss called as he led Liz through the Ops Centre. The agent turned around. "I got Elizabeth,"  
  
"Hello, Elizabeth. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Sydney's father, Jack,"   
  
"Call me Liz. Both of you," she said. They both nodded.   
  
"Where are Sydney and Mike?" Weiss asked.   
  
"I'm not sure. They were arguing in his office a few minutes ago, probably still there now," He joked, which was a bit out of character for him, Weiss noticed. "I think they went to the Sparring Room. I'll take Liz there now. Weiss, would you mind getting a coffee for the lady?" Jack asked. Weiss nodded and left as Jack took Liz to the Sparring Room.   
~*~*Sparring Room*~*~  
  
Vaughn turned his attention from watching Sydney training through the two-way mirror, when he heard the door open. He looked relieved as he saw his sister. "You're here. We were looking for you," Liz muttered an apology.   
  
"How's Sydney doing?" Jack asked. The three watched as the girl in question hit the punching bag violently and threw in a few kicks too.   
  
"She's going well. She seems to have retained all of her skills and quick too. We'll see how she is with a gun and Op Tech before we do anything else. I think she's almost there,"  
  
"Is that good?"  
  
"The sooner she's ready, the better," Vaughn replied. "Although I don't think she should see any members of SD-6 until she's seen Barnett," Jack agreed.   
  
"Who's Barnett?" Liz asked. Vaughn told her, "Wow. With all the stuff spies have to do, it's no wonder why you have a psychiatrist in the building. I guess it's good money too. Listening to people's secrets while you analyse them and dish out some pretty useless crap," Liz said. Jack and Vaughn looked at each other. She saw their looks "I'm just saying,"   
  
"Anyway," Vaughn took the focus off his little sister, "I don't think she should see Amy especially,"   
  
"I know Amy," Liz interrupted, "I saw her today at the restaurant I was at," Liz took her eyes off Sydney.  
  
"Amy Tippin? Big red hair?" Vaughn asked. Liz nodded.   
  
"Weiss said she was dangerous," Jack and Vaughn looked at each other.   
  
"Liz, did you say anything about Sydney to Amy?" Jack asked.   
  
"No, I'm not stupid!" Liz scoffed, "I know to keep the CIA a secret," she whispered.  
  
"Beth, you don't have to whisper that last part when we're in the CIA," Liz gave him a look and turned to Sydney, who had taken a break.   
  
"Liz, why don't you go talk to Sydney. I'm sure she'd be pleased to see you," Vaughn said. Liz nodded, more than happy to go and see her friend.   
  
"We need to act fast. Not only does SD-6 know Sydney is back, they also know what Liz looks like and that she's with us," Vaughn said.   
  
"I agree. They must know we're going to do something and since my cover there is blown, we have no inside knowledge,"  
  
"What about that paperclip bug we planted in Sloane's office?" Vaughn questioned. Jack shook his head.  
  
"No. I saw Sloane use it for his tax forms. Unless we want intel on the IRS, it's useless,"   
  
"Do you think we need to recruit someone new from inside SD-6?"  
  
"Dixon?" Jack suggested. Vaughn shook his head.  
  
"No, he thinks Sydney is dead. It'll be too much for him. I think we should go for someone close to Sloane. Someone that can hurt him,"  
  
"Amy?" The agents reached a mutual agreement, "Who should we send?"   
  
"How about me?" Sydney replied as she caught the tail-end of the conversation, "I think I'm ready to take her, plus, I want to pay her a little visit,"  
~*~*SD-6*~*~  
  
Amy strode into Sloane's office. "You called me?" she asked. Sloane urged her in and told her to sit down,"  
  
"We lost an agent today," Sloane reclined in his seat, "She was captured by one of the agents working for Jack and Sydney. The one you said you encountered in Mongolia,"  
  
"I know, sir," Amy apologised, "And I'm sorry-"  
  
"*You're* sorry?" Sloane cut her off, "Do you know what this has done?" he raised his voice a bit higher. Amy opened her mouth to speak, "The sanctity of this agent depends on the agents and their loyalty,"  
  
"It wasn't because she wasn't loyal!" Amy butted in, "Sydney is back, meaning they are more powerful. I guess Edelson wasn't prepared for it,"  
  
"Agent Edelson was *your* partner. *Your* responsibility. Not SD-6's," Sloane looked at Amy, who glared at him.  
  
"Forgive me for saying this, but I believe we could have prevented this," Sloane allowed the young agent to continue, "If we had eliminated the Bristows, there would be no threat to SD-6, CIA or us!"  
  
"And whose job was it to eliminate Sydney?" he reminded her.  
  
"That was a mistake, sir. They had help and I was on my own. But we could have taken Mr Bristow at any time. But we didn't,"  
  
"That's different. Jack was my best friend. I was working at his weaknesses -his wife and daughter being one of them,"   
  
"Will was my brother and Sydney was one of my best friends. Why couldn't I have done that to them?" Amy retorted. She knew she wasn't supposed to, but she couldn't help it. Sloane stared at her.  
  
"Are you questioning my orders? Do you really believe you know better?" Amy looked downcast at the floor.   
  
"I'm sorry, Mr Sloane. But I don't get your way of working," Sloane looked at her.   
  
"Agent Tippin, while you are here arguing with me, what do you think the Bristows are doing? You are wasting precious time. Time we do not have and we have already lost one agent that could cripple us. I was you to go out and find Sydney Bristow," Amy nodded and silently got up. As she was about to leave, Sloane stopped her. "Amy?" she turned to look at him.  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"When you find her, I want you to kill her. No more mistakes. This is for your brother. For the country," Amy nodded and left.   
  
Amy walked out of the Credit Dauphine building and went to the parking lot. She had to get Sydney Bristow and she knew exactly where to start. She climbed into her car and sat down. Sighing, she positioned the rear-view mirror. As she glanced at it through the corner of her eye, she noticed something. Before she could see what it was, a pair of arms flew up, grabbing hold of Amy's neck.  
  
"Hi, miss me?" Sydney asked as she injected something into her friend's neck.  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
TBC… 


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Hey guys. I'm so sorry for the delay, I forgot to post this up on FF.N and only just realised. Sorry, hope you enjoy (FYI, I wrote this 4 months ago, it's really crap!)  
  
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Her eyes opened lazily at first They blinked a few times before she raised her head slowly and looked at the person in front of her. She smiled bitterly.   
  
"Sydney…" she croaked before clearing her throat and licking her dry lips. "Long time no see," she groaned as she sat up straight and checked her restraints. Her neck ached where Sydney had tranquilized her.   
  
"You are chained to the chair. There are no weapons in this room and if you even try to get out, the six guys with machine guns will get you first," Sydney told her. Amy looked around the bare room and knew Sydney wasn't bluffing.  
  
"Sloane's going to have a cow when he hears about this."  
  
"He won't. And if he does, it won't be because we have you; it'll be because he's worried about his secrets. Arvin Sloane doesn't care about you, he doesn't care about anybody." Sydney's comment was met with a cynical laugh from Amy.  
  
"Sloane warned me about this. You still believe you work for the real CIA?" she looked at Sydney, before leaning in as far as she could and lowering her voice. Her eyes narrowed. "I know this is all a game; posing as the CIA and turning people against SD-6. You're betraying your country. You could be executed for this,"   
  
"Amy…please listen to me. You've been fed a pack of lies. SD-6 is posing as CIA. They're part of the Alliance and Sloane knows that. He's lied to every single SD-6 agent into thinking they're working for the USA, but you're all working against it!" Amy stared at Sydney, forcing herself not to believe one word that came out of her ex-friend's mouth.   
  
"How come you worked with them for so long? What about your father? He's been there from the beginning, surely he knows whether SD-6 are telling the truth." Sydney nodded.   
  
"I'm probably not supposed to tell you this, but my father joined SD-6 as an undercover CIA agent. I, however, am like you. We were both lied to from the very beginning. I only learnt of it after Danny died. All that time, they convinced me they were the real CIA; would the real CIA kill an innocent civilian?"  
  
"SD-6 didn't kill Danny. You did! You broke the rules so Sloane had him killed. To save SD-6!"   
  
"Yes, I shouldn't have told Danny the truth. I'd give anything to have Danny back but a lot of good has come out of it. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have learnt the truth. It's bittersweet but it's the hard truth and I've had to accept that,"  
  
"And Will? Why did you have to tell him about SD-6? What did you have to learn from that?" Amy asked, wondering what Sydney's motive of her brother's death was.  
  
"I did not tell Will about SD-6. He found out on his own investigating Danny's death. I don't know how he found out SD-6 was involved as my father told me he got Will off the story and covered up SD-6's tracks. I don't think Will knew my involvement with SD-6 or the CIA." Sydney explained. There was a pause before Amy spoke up.  
  
"I had been with SD-6 for a year. I never knew you worked there when I was recruited. It was only a few months after Danny's death when he told me. Sloane wanted me to tag you. Ask questions about your trips, go through your stuff, follow you. He said you were working against SD-6," Amy said quietly.   
  
"I was," Sydney interrupted, "But not against the CIA. Not against the American government."  
  
"So SD-6 aren't CIA. Yet everybody in Credit Dauphine believe they are?" Amy asked for confirmation.   
  
"Only a handful of people know. Would you have joined SD-6 if they told you they were working against the government?" Amy didn't reply. She only looked downcast at the floor. "I'm telling you the truth, Amy. You have to-"  
  
"He told me you were a threat," Amy cut Sydney off. "He convinced me of that. Sloane made me believe that Will had to be taken care of." There was a pause and Amy's features softened and tears welled up in her eyes. "He…he…he made me kill my own brother!" she chocked out, raising her eyes to look at Sydney before howling out in despair. Because her hand were tied, it was impossible for her to cover her face or wipe the tears that fell. Sydney felt compelled to comfort her friend, but there was also the small possibility that it was a trick.   
  
'She's an SD-6 agent' Sydney thought to herself, 'She's taught to use dirty tricks'. Sydney's own eyes welled up with tears and she slowly backed away from Amy.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Amy," she said gently as she turned and left the weeping woman alone.   
  
~*~*~*Barnett's Office – 30 minutes later*~*~*~  
  
"Ms Bristow, it's nice to see you again," Judy Barnett greeted as Sydney entered her office.  
  
"You too," Sydney said shaking the woman's hand and sitting opposite on the white couch.   
  
"How has your first day back been?" Barnett asked. Sydney shrugged.  
  
"My dad's house got blown up, my friend went missing and almost got killed by the person whose just found out she killed her own brother. What's more, there is the fact that there are currently CIA operatives going through my luggage and I have to stay in a safe house," Sydney said, reciting everything that had happened the last six or so hours she'd been there. Barnett's eyes widened as she jotted own some notes. "I'm also starting to regret coming back,"  
  
"Oh? And why do you think that is?" Sydney raised an eyebrow at Barnett's remark.   
  
"You tell me," she said. "You're the shrink. Are you going to tell me it's because I've got to face the consequences? Maybe I've introduced a civilian to the CIA world and put her at risk. Or maybe it's something to do with certain relationships that have to be fixed?" Sydney said almost callously. Barnett didn't reply, just looked at Sydney, who sighed and mumbled an apology.   
  
"Why don't you tell me what you think?" Sydney sighed again.  
  
"It's probably all those reasons. Liz met Francie and it made me remember the world I'd left behind. I can't see Francie because she thinks I am dead but there is so much I want to tell her. I want to see her smile. I want to tell her about my day. I want to just laze around watching cartoons with her on a Saturday morning. I always wanted to tell her about SD-6 and the CIA. I thought that once everything was all over, she and Will would be the first to know. That we'd talk it out, cry a little and look forward to a life without me looking over my shoulder. I feel so guilty about leaving her so soon after Will died. I didn't really think of her or anyone else at the time," Sydney said.  
  
"Interesting," Barnett commented.  
  
"What is?"  
  
"A lot of the things you just said. You say that you wanted to tell Francie about your double agent life; however, it seems to me that you filled that void by informing Liz of it. You needed someone that you confide in so you chose Liz. Your relationship with her is exactly like your relationship with Francie"  
  
"But I'm not lying to Liz,"  
  
"Yes you are. You told her about your spy status, but I doubt you told her why you left. I doubt you even know why you left. But I do," Sydney looked at Barnett.  
  
"Ok, fine. Tell me why I left," Sydney crossed her arms as Barnett shuffled in her seat.   
  
"I will. But before we get to that, there is something I want to clear first. You repeatedly say you 'left', but we both know you didn't. You ran. And the reason you ran is because you were scared. I'm not sure what you were scared of; there are a variety of reasons. Maybe it's because Amy was an SD-6 agent and Sloane knew about you," Barnett cocked her head to the side as she studied Sydney's face. "Or maybe it was because you were scared of getting closer to a particular agent,"  
  
"I was wondering when you were going to bring him up," Sydney said looking at a Picasso picture on the wall; deliberately avoiding looking at Barnett.  
  
"One of us had to. He's been here a lot, Sydney," Barnett told her. She looked down at a nearby lamp, blushing slightly.   
  
"So I've heard. What did he tell you?" Sydney said clearing her throat.   
  
"I can't say. Patient/doctor confidentiality. But he told me some things that needed to be talked about. The events in the safehouse, for instance."  
  
"There were so many things that happened that night. I doubt he told you everything," Sydney rebuked.   
  
"Well, why don't you fill in the gaps? What did he miss?" Barnett asked. Sydney peered out the window. Yup, this was going to be a long hour  
  
~*~*~*Vaughn's Office*~*~*~  
  
"So…" Weiss said taking a seat opposite Vaughn. "I hear Sydney's in with Barnett,"  
  
"Yes. She is." Vaughn said, his voice doing it's best to remain neutral.   
  
"And? You aren't wondering what she's talking about?" Vaughn shook his head.   
  
"What Sydney and Barnett talk about is none of my business." Vaughn told his friend.  
  
"You're not just a little bit curious?"  
  
"NO!" Vaughn snapped, looking up from his work.   
  
"Even if it's about you?" Vaughn sighed, glaring at Weiss to tell him to shut up.   
  
"Can we please change the subject?" Vaughn pleaded.  
  
"You're right. I'm sorry. It must be awkward for you with her back. And your sister. Speaking of… do you know if Liz is seeing anyone?" Weiss asked shyly.   
  
~*~*~*Barnett's Office – 25 minutes later*~*~*~  
  
"How did you feel when you saw Amy in the warehouse?" Barnett asked tentatively. She knew it was a touchy subject with Sydney – for obvious reasons.   
  
"How would you feel if you saw you friend pointing a gun at you? She was a different person. I've never seen someone with so much hate in their eyes. She wanted to kill me; and she would have," Sydney took a deep breath. "I felt as if it was some horrible dream. I even had a similar dream to it the night before. But when I realised it was real, it scared me. If it had been a stranger, I wouldn't have had any trouble facing him. But if it's someone you know, someone you've fought so hard to protect – you tend to wonder if it is all worth it,"  
  
"You say you had a dream of this encounter. What happened in the dream?"   
  
"It was basically the mission to Mongolia, although I didn't know it at the time. I was walking on my own through the corridors; no guards, no cameras, no Dixon, which is what it was like on the actual mission. When I went into the room in my dream, there were just voices and walls that bled. The voices were taunting me about Danny and Will… which is exactly what Amy did." Sydney finished off. Barnett nodded and wrote a few things down.   
  
"What about Agent Vaughn?" Barnett decided to approach the subject with caution. It had taken a while for Vaughn to tell her about his feelings for Sydney. It pained Barnett to see the longing in his eyes for his lost agent.  
  
"What do you want me to say? I think about him everyday, even before I left. We'd made such a big step in our relationship that night and I ended up running away. For the last two years all I have thought about is what we could have had, what we could have been and the fact I threw it all away," Sydney felt more tears sting at her eyes, "He's been with me through everything. He was the one guy I could trust and I repaid him like that. I wasn't fair on him. I wasn't fair on anyone. All I did was think of myself, that's all I have ever done,"  
  
"That's not true," Barnett admonished, surprising Sydney. "Agent Bristow, I have read your file, I've listened to you talk and I know the work you do here. For almost a decade, you have risked your life for this country and even when SD-6 killed your fiancé, you kept on fighting. Not because you had to. You could have backed out any second. You did it because you wanted to protect those you loved. And while you did act selfishly by running away, you came back when we needed help. Everyone has moments of selfishness and you are one of the least selfish people I know. Sydney, you have been through almost every possible scenario and you've kept your chin up. You're entitled to your happiness, all you've got to do is learn to accept some." Barnett said. Sydney stared at her, as she took in what the doctor had said.  
  
"Ok," she said simply, still a little dazed. Barnett smiled.  
  
"It's good to have you back. I know there are a lot of people pleased to see you again."  
  
"Thank you," Sydney said rising from her seat.   
  
"Now you go out there and you start working on what we discussed. It's the only way you can get what you want. I'm always here if you want to talk," Barnett reassured. Sydney nodded as she moved towards the door. "Sydney," Barnett called after Sydney, who turned back, "Good luck." Sydney offered a small smile and left the room.  
  
~*~*~*Vaughn's Office*~*~*~  
  
Sydney knocked on Vaughn's door. He looked up from his computer, his frown disappearing and a small smile appearing on his face.  
  
"Did I disturb you?" Sydney asked. Vaughn shook his head.  
  
"No. I was just writing up a report. Sit down," he said motioning to the seat opposite him. Sydney sat down and the two suddenly found other parts of the room interesting.  
  
"Did you see Dr Barnett?" Vaughn asked, knowing full well that she had, but wanted to break the ice that was forming.  
  
"Yeah, I did. It helped," she said nodding her head. "She seems less…" Sydney searched for the words.  
  
"Annoying?" he offered. Sydney smiled and nodded again. "That usually happens when you go and see her of your own accord rather than being ordered to," he explained.  
  
Another silence came over them.  
  
"Have you seen Liz?" Sydney asked. Vaughn thought for a moment.   
  
"I think she was with Jack. I don't know where she is now though. I know Weiss went looking for her,"  
  
"Weiss?"  
  
"Yeah, he kept asking whether Liz was single. I told him I wouldn't know," Vaughn said. "Is she?" he questioned, wondering if there was currently a man in his sister's life.  
  
"Not at the moment. She had a fling with the Phys Ed. teacher three months back. Didn't work out," Sydney told him.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"He turned out to be gay. Before that, she went out with the art teacher – who was fired for being found in a closet with the biology teacher,"  
  
"Why were they in a closet?" Vaughn asked. Sydney raised an eyebrow. "Oh!" he realised, then he turned a shade of red. "Sorry I asked,"  
  
"Don't be. The school I'm at is crazy. You think the teachers are bad? You should try listening to some of the gossip that seems to spread around so quickly," Sydney grinned.   
  
"What kind of gossip?" Vaughn leaned back in his chair.   
  
"Where shall I start? There have been about four rumoured pregnancies in the time I've been there and you don't want to know how many fights there have been. Especially between the year 10 and 11s. They seem to hate each other and even got into a fight over someone's sandwich!"   
  
"Really? What happened?" Vaughn asked fascinated. Sydney grinned as she leant in closer and told him the rest of the story.   
  
~*~*~*Meanwhile*~*~*~  
  
Weiss looked up from his Solitaire game as he saw Jack enter the Ops Centre from the corner of his eye. He immediately noticed the lack of Vaughn's kid sister and scrambled to get to Jack to ask about her whereabouts.   
  
"Mr Bristow!" Weiss said as he hurtled towards Sydney's father. Jack looked at the younger agent and frowned slightly at Weiss.  
  
"Yes? Is everything okay?" he asked, his thoughts immediately turning to his daughter, "Is Syd-"  
  
"Oh, Sydney's fine. I just noticed that, uh, Li- Michael's sister wasn't here… and last time, she was with you… and I was wondering…" Intimidated by the older man, Weiss was reduced to babbles, much to Jack's amusement.   
  
"Liz is fine. She's picking up her and Sydney's luggage and moving to the safehouse. She's tired." Jack explained. Weiss nodded, disappointed that Liz was already being put out-of-bounds. "You understand it's important to keep her and Sydney safe. We can't have her loitering around while agents are trying to work." Jack said sensing Weiss' disappointment.  
  
"Yes, sir. I understand," Weiss turned away from Jack and began to walk away.  
  
"How would you like to be put on first watch?" Jack asked. Weiss spun around.  
  
"Excuse me?"   
  
"How would you like to keep an eye on things in the safehouse? Liz is all alone at the moment and no one has gone through procedures as of yet. You don't seem to be doing much. Do you want to do it?" Jack asked, a small smile forming on his lips as he saw Weiss' eyes light up.  
  
"Oh, of course! Yeah!" Weiss couldn't contain his excitement as he almost broke into a dance right there and then.   
  
"Good. You can go when Sydney goes. It's nearby and the details are here," Jack passed Weiss an envelope and a set of keys. "I trust you have a gun. There is also another agent there in case something happens," he explained. Weiss nodded.  
  
"Thank you, sir," Weiss said. Jack smiled  
  
"No problem. Sydney should be ready, it depends on how long she's with Dr Barnett for and can be released." Jack said. "Have you seen her? Or is she still in session?" Weiss shrugged.  
  
"Well, I saw Barnett getting some coffee about five minutes ago in the cafeteria. I guess Sydney's finished." He glanced at Vaughn's office. "And I can guess where she is now," He motioned Jack in the direction of his friend's office.  
  
They watched Vaughn and Sydney engrossed in their muted conversation. Their body language speaking volumes as Sydney leant across some of the desk, explaining things with big arm actions and expressions and Vaughn listening intently and laughing. Although they weren't as close as two years earlier, they both looked reasonable comfortable and seemed to be enjoying each other's company.   
  
"When they're done, tell Sydney and Vaughn the details. I'll be at Vaughn's apartment and getting some new I.D," Jack said leaving Weiss, who nodded. The grey haired agent started to leave, before he turned around and looked at Weiss. "When they're done," he clarified. Weiss acknowledged Jack's instructions and he returned to his desk.   
  
~*~*~*SD-6*~*~*~  
  
"Mr Sloane?"  
  
"Speaking,"  
  
"We have news about Agent Tippin,"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"She's been compromised. We suspect it was Jack and Sydney Bristow,"  
  
"Do you know where she's being held?"  
  
"We're working on it, sir."  
  
"Work harder. If she talks, all could be lost. The Bristows are experts in twisting the truth,"  
  
"Yes, sir." There was a pause. "What do you propose we do when we find them?"  
  
"Kill them,"  
  
"And Tippin?"  
  
"She doesn't get out alive"  
  
"Yes sir,"  
  
Sloane hung up the phone and sighed. He wanted the Bristows out of his life and quickly… even at the expense of his best agent.   
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sorry again for the delay!  
  
Tejal xXx 


End file.
